


haunted

by iamafishstik



Series: Лед и Сталь | Ice and Steel [3]
Category: Black Widow (Comics), Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: (i am so sorry to all native speakers of any languages i have butchered), (that includes english lel xoxox), Aleks Being A Real Person, Assassins In Love, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Author Takes Google Translate Liberties, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, BAMF Natasha Romanov, BAMF Women, Bucky Struggling To Be Real Person, Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, F/M, Gun Violence, Idiots in Love, Multi, Pre-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov Friendship, but also a bit happy, definitely read the first few fics, mostly - Freeform, or at least the first one, some cute parts, some not so cute parts, the snap, this is a bit sad, this is pretty canon compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:55:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28641834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamafishstik/pseuds/iamafishstik
Summary: In the beginning, solitude was all she knew.Then came company and love and joy. A rebirth.Aleksandrina Romanov was a fool to think she could live in the light for so long.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Aleksandrina Romanov, James "Bucky" Barnes/Original Female Character(s), Natasha Romanov & Original Female Character(s), Sam Wilson & Original Female Character(s), Steve Rogers & Original Female Character(s)
Series: Лед и Сталь | Ice and Steel [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1747474
Comments: 42
Kudos: 32





	1. Prologue: WHITE WIDOW

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all! Maybe you guys are sick of Aleks - but she still has a story to tell! So, I present to you, the teaser for the third and final fic in the Ice and Steel series - stay tuned for updates :))

**October 6 th, 2016**

**Wakanda, Africa.**

* * *

Here in the bowels of the Princess’ tower, the light was artificial and cool, a gentle white that was a far cry from the harsh Wakandan sun; though by now, the sun had probably faded. It had been a long day for the royal family – and indeed all of Wakanda.

She didn’t mind the enclosed space anymore. Besides, there was much to do and consider in the present – the dark memories of her time imprisoned were far away. She hummed low under her breath as she worked; trying to soothe the anxious, exhausted girl before her. The lingering vestiges of her own battle-fever were still running through her, equal parts hot and cold – adrenaline battling the frost of her training. It had been close today; too close. Shuri – her charge – had nearly been killed, and even if the girl didn’t seem to realise just how close she had come to death at the hands of her cousin, Aleks knew.

As it was, Shuri had been quick and clever, and had avoided the killing blow. She had a few cuts that needed tending, and she would have some bruises in the morning, but Aleksandrina felt confident that she could take care of it. Deftly, she tied off the end of the bandage she had wrapped over the neat stitches she’d put on the deepest cut on Shuri’s shoulder and sat back to look at the young girl. Shuri met her gaze with wide eyes.

“How do you feel, Princess?” Aleks raised her hand in an outwardly soothing gesture, gently cradling Shuri’s jaw. Subtly, she checked the girl’s pulse. Shuri’s heart was pounding hard enough she could hear it.

“Fine. Good.” Shuri replied, before she blinked. “I thought I told you to stop calling me that.” Aleks kept her face still as Shuri scowled. “ _especially_ after today-” Shuri’s playful tone stuttered to a halt as her face dropped; no doubt the battle was coming back to her in all-too real technicolour. “Is it always like this?” Shuri asked suddenly, looking frightened. Aleks regarded her with mute question. “Feeling so…so…everything?”

This time, Aleks touched the girl with feeling, smoothing back the wild curls at Shuri’s temples that had sprung free during combat. “You shouldn’t fear feeling, Shuri. It would be worse to fight and feel nothing at all.”

A sudden commotion from the entryway made them both startle. Aleks had phased through the table and pulled Shuri into invisibility before she had even properly processed the interruption.

“-know she’s here! I saw her, during the battle! I won’t-”

It was Everett Ross.

T’Challa and the Queen Mother had ordered her to stay hidden when news of his arrival had spread. It was because of him, she had not been able to protect Shuri better. It was because of him this whole mess started.

He wasn’t a particularly tall man, but from what Shuri had told her, and from the way he was staring down the Dora Milaje – he seemed to be unusually brave. Perhaps that was why he had come directly to find her, rather than call in for an army of backup.

“I’m right here, Agent Ross.”

Aleks stepped forwards, releasing Shuri from the Grey and nodding to the Dora to let the man through. He was panting, left arm in a sling, and had a nasty black eye blooming. Shuri scurried forwards, planting herself firmly between them. “Mr. Ross – you _cannot_ arrest her! She is on foreign soil, and as part of the ruling sovereignty of Wakanda I _refuse-_ ”

“You saved her life today.” Ross interrupted Shuri, staring very hard at Aleks. Aleks gently moved Shuri aside, Ross’ eyes watching her hands on the Princess’ shoulders carefully.

“Yes.”

“And you were involved in the recent exposure of the last Chinese HYDRA cell? The recovery of those NASA-ROSCOSMOS documents? The dissolution of-”

“ _Yes_.” Aleks interrupted him this time. She and Steve had been busy – and if Ross wanted to list off their recent missions and accomplishments they would be here for too long.

“So... you and Barnes have been here, this whole time?”

To that, Aleks said nothing. She would not betray the whereabouts of her partner, and she would not implicate the Wakandan nation in the hiding and abetting of wanted fugitives. “What are you going to do, Ross?” Aleks asked bluntly.

Shuri made a noise, tried to step between them again, but Aleks put a hand out to still her, not looking away from Ross’ eyes. His mouth twisted. “I should arrest you, _Ghost.”_

“If that is what you think you should do, then do it.” Aleks had stopped running. “But you should know, Agent – I’m not Ghost anymore.” She was not what they made her, and she never would be again.

“Who are you then?”

“My name is Aleksandrina Nikolaevna Romanov,” Aleksandrina took a small step back, and spread her arms, inviting Ross to look at her, look at _all_ of her – the new hair, the new smile, the new suit. _The new person_. “But you can call me the White Widow.”


	2. Wakanda, 2018

**April 3 rd, 2018**

**Wakanda, Africa**

* * *

“Are you ready to go?”

She didn’t need to turn to see Steve – she had known it was him by the tread of his feet. Aleks had come to know Steve well over the past year. She had come to know all of them – Sam, Wanda, even Vision in part – and of course, her Natalia.

She raised her hand, rubbing the back of her glove over the glass before her, clearing away the fog of her breath. Her partner’s still face looked as it always did; serene, but for the faint crease between his brows. He had once told her that the cryochamber wasn’t really sleep; it was an odd stasis between restfulness and oblivion.

 _Aleks missed him_.

She missed him more than anything – and though he was with her, he wasn’t ever really there. In the past twelve months, she had only spent five of them with him. To her, being together was the most important thing. To him, being whole again seemed to be even more so. Aleksandrina tried not to let it hurt her; it was a selfish desire she had to combat on her own. How could she blame James for wanting to mend his mind?

“Y’know if you just asked him, he would come.” Steve’s voice was quiet, knowing. _Too knowing._

Aleks shook her head once, resolute. “I can’t, Steve.” She turned to look at her friend, giving him her best smile. He didn’t seem convinced. “He wants to fix himself. How can I ask him to stop?” She looked back at James. Gently, she leant forwards and pressed a kiss to the glass. “I will see you soon,” she whispered, closing her eyes and wishing he was listening. “I love you.”

Steve didn’t say anything as they headed towards the Quinjet, but Aleks could feel his eyes on her, could feel his pity. She walked faster.

* * *

**April 5 th, 2018**

**Al Hudaydah, Republic of Yemen**

* * *

They shouldn’t have come.

The Houthi had firmly entrenched themselves in control of Al Hudaydah, and though they had only come to release an encampment of hostages seeking asylum from their war-torn country, the Houthis had taken their arrival in Yemen as a declaration of war.

Aleksandrina smoothly ducked behind the remains of a foundation wall, tucking her rifle between her legs as she grabbed a new clip with one hand, and a smoke grenade with the other. She tugged out the pin, and threw it over the wall behind her. The explosion caused a momentary lapse in the rebel’s gunfire, and allowed her time to replace her clip and check her sight before she came back around the wall.

Unlike her, the Houthi were in dark clothes and camouflage. At night, and in the dark brush of the Yemen countryside, it gave them an advantage. Here, however, against the white brick of Al Hudaydah’s city in broad day light – she blended in, whilst they stuck out against the stone.

Through the smoke, her enhanced eyes were able to pick out several forms attempting to weave through the rubble towards her. She would never have the same innate marksmanship as her partner, but – she thought, gratified, as they dropped like stones – she could shoot well enough. Practice made perfect after all, and she had 85-years’ worth of training under her belt.

“ _Head due east, Aleks – you’re nearly at the square.”_

Sam’s voice crackled through her comm-unit, and a moment later, a large shadow dappled over her. Aleks looked up in time to catch the flash of Sam’s wings as he banked sharply around an abandoned residential unit to avoid the flare of machinegun fire from the ground.

Aleks fired a few last shots in the direction of the men after her, and shouldered her rifle. “How far to the drop point, Natalia?” She asked, forcing herself into a run east.

“ _No more than thirteen klicks, but we’ve got a lot of young, sick and wounded. We can’t move very fast.”_ It was Steve who answered her, voice terse.

They had been forced to deviate from their plan when upon arriving in Yemen, they’d been beset upon. The Houthi didn’t seem to realize who exactly they were dealing with, but Steve and Natasha were the most easily recognizable, and so instead of Sam and Aleks quietly liberating the camp whilst Steve and Natasha disabled the command centre – they’d been forced to switch roles. Steve had not been happy about it, but Aleks knew that if he was recognized – they’d have more than just the Houthi to deal with.

“We’ll keep them busy.” Aleks reassured him, taking a leap over a pile of smouldering rubble. Gunfire ricocheted off the wall beside her, and she phased out – but not before a bullet grazed her arm. “Говно!” **_Shit!_** She swore, grabbing her arm to look. On the white and pale grey of her uniform, blood showed up easily, and she was able to find the exact spot of her wound.

“ _Ты в порядке_?” ** _Are you alright?_** Natalia’s voice sounded in her ear. She sounded out of breath, exhausted. They had been walking for miles now, and she had no doubt that Natalia had quite literally shouldered their burdens.

“Хорошо.” **_Fine._** She replied, trying to see through the cloud of smoke and dust being kicked up by the automatic fire she’d stumbled into. “Sam? I’m pinned. I can’t see where they’re shooting from.”

“ _Get ready.”_

Aleks squared her shoulders and broke into a sprint towards the buckling wall of a house opposite. The gunfire chased her, and she was forced to stay in the Grey, making it harder to see where she was going. She almost tripped as she sprinted up the sheer diagonal slope of the wall, higher and higher and-

She leapt, and a pair of strong hands caught her securely under her arms.

Aleks pulled Sam into the Grey with her – and it was a mark of how often they had worked together that he did not react at all, spiralling gracefully in an arc away from the destroyed house. From her new angle, Aleks could see the shooter – holed up on the top floor of a burnt house – and the square beyond. “Drop me in.” She told Sam.

“You sure?” She couldn’t see his face, but she could picture his expression – half-concern, half-disbelief.

“Да.”

Sam rocketed towards the square so fast that Aleks could feel the swoop of gravity in her gut. As they approached, the machine guns stationed in the four towers bracketing the square opened fire. With the ease of practice, Sam banked sharply, releasing her just before he gave up his momentum.

Unable to look back, hoping he had made it out of firing range, Aleks curled herself into a ball – and smashed through the window of the east tower. She rolled, absorbing the impact of her landing, and had her handgun in her grip as she stood.

She had taken the tower’s occupants by surprise; she shot down three of the five men inside before they had time to aim their weapons. The man operating the heavy machine gun cried out, and began to turn the machine gun around. The fifth opened fire with his own pistol, and she advanced upon him, the bullets flying uselessly through her. With a sharp crack, she shattered his jawbone with one well-placed punch and as he crumpled, she kicked his weapon out of his grip. The machinegun-operator almost had the barrel pointed at her, but almost wasn’t enough. She put a bullet through his kidney and left him where he slumped over.

With one heave, she toppled the gun over, leaving the window clear. The square itself was made up of limestone tiling, and marked at each corner with a three story tower. Connecting the towers were long abandoned single-story shopfronts and small housing units. Once, it would have been beautiful. Now, it was as war-torn and debilitated as most of the city was.

She retreated a few paces, before hurtling towards the wide open square of the tower window. She leapt through, suspended in air for a long moment, before she landed in a low crouch atop the rooves connecting the east and south towers. One of these towers was housing their base communications for the area – and whilst she could and _should_ go blow it to hell, she needed to keep their attention as long as she could.

She had never been one for causing the chaos; she was always the hidden shadow, the phantom haunting the scene. Aleks was only a little surprised to find she actually quite enjoyed this part. There were men on the rooftops with her, some still clambering out of the windows of the south tower, all clearly intent in blocking her path.

For all their success in capturing a weakened and impoverished capital, for all their imported weapons, for all their bravado and bloodlust – they were just men. They were always _just men._

Aleksandrina cut a path through them with something like ease.

* * *

“Jesus Christ.” Sam landed in front of her with wide eyes. “You, uh, you want me to find a hose?”

Aleks looked down at her dirt and blood covered suit. What once had been whites and greys was now browns and reds. She looked, in a word, hellish. “Shuri will have my head.” She said mildly. “We’re done here.” She tossed him the remote detonator linked to the explosives she’d neatly lined around the whole square.

Sam nodded, tucking it into his belt. “Wanna watch the fireworks?” He extended his hand, wiggling his fingers playfully. Aleks couldn’t help but smile. She stepped into his half-embrace, putting her arms around his neck to wrap her fingers around the small custom-grips installed in his suit. They lifted off smoothly, Sam’s arm still loosely wrapped around her waist, in a gesture more habit than necessity.

Where Natalia had slipped easily back into what she knew, and Steve had actively trained with her to align their combative style, it had taken Aleks and Sam more than a few missions to fall into the sync of allies. Sam was trained by American military men, and Aleks had been taught by Russian spies – paired with the discordance of their enhancements – they could not have thought or fought more differently. It was better now, of course. Aleks had learnt to watch Sam’s patterns, to pick out the moments where his human body might fail, and Sam knew what she looked like backed into a corner. Of course, it helped that Aleks had gotten over her fear of being dropped, and Sam had stopped throwing up every time he’d passed in and out of the Grey.

When they were high enough, Sam pressed the det – and they watched as the square erupted into flame. Sam whistled lowly, the sound coming through her comm rather than into her ear. “Shit. How much ANFO did you use?”

Aleks turned her head to look at him as best she could, their cheeks almost brushing. “What do you mean? All of it.”

“All of it?!” Sam repeated.

“ _You used all the nitrate?”_

“ _Все это_?”

Steve and Natasha’s equally shocked voices sounded off in their ears. Aleks narrowed her eyes. “Is there a problem?”

“No, no…” Sam was quick to assure her, a familiar shit-eating grin spreading across his face as they soared towards Natasha and Steve’s position. “Just- it’s a bit _excessive_ , don’t you think?”

“Excessive…” Aleks repeated slowly.

Sam cackled, “I thought you were supposed to be _the_ super-spy.”

“I was told to cause a distraction. I would consider that distracting.” Aleks said coldly, fighting the grin threatening to spread across her face. It was hard to be serious around Sam. It was hard not to smile around Sam.

“Oh yeah – _excessively_ distracting.” Sam hummed. Aleks released one of her hands to flick his ear. “Ow! Don’t make me drop you!”

“You wouldn’t dare.” Aleks snarled, but quickly replaced her hands. Just in case…

They saw the hostages first, a winding line of malnourished men, women and children, picking their way slowly through the rocky valleys that led out of Al Hudaydah to the countryside. There, they would be picked up by a humanitarian group that ferried refugees from cities to boats waiting at the last free port in Yemen. Their job would be done once the handover was complete. As Sam swooped low, one of the women at the back of the group threw back her headscarf, revealing herself to be Natasha. Her newly white-blonde hair gleamed under the midday sun, and with her face turned to the sky, the sunlight whitening her features – they had never looked so alike.

Aleksandrina had helped the other woman get rid of her distinctive red locks. Initially, as they sat in the tiny gas station bathroom in northern Kenya, they had wanted to dye it black. But Natalia had given her a considering look, and asked if she thought having a twin would make things more difficult for media and organizations to identify them.

And it did.

To the uninitiated, to the unfamiliar, to camera lenses and eyes out of range – they could have been sisters, mirror images of each other, and they had been confused many times, both in the field and off of it. Especially now, with her new White Widow suit, which was a near exact replica of Natasha’s cat-suit, but for the colour scheme and extra holsters. It was a statement. _They_ were a statement. Aleksandrina remembered reading a gossip magazine _and_ a Russian newspaper that made a great deal about their familial connection.

Aleksandrina let go of Sam, and dropped to land on the boulder above Natalia. A few of the stragglers turned to look at her, and she didn’t miss the flash of fear across their faces. Aleks ignored the faint prickle of hurt, and looked at her niece. She looked tired, and the dust kicked up by their passing had turned to dirt on her sweaty face. Aleks jumped down to land in front of her, and held out her canteen. “It’s okay-” Natalia began to protest, but Aleks could see the flash of guilty longing in her protégée’s green eyes.

“Take it. Catch your breath and meet us when you can.” Aleks told her, swivelling on the ball of her foot to follow the refugees. Natalia shook her head, and tried to follow. Aleks turned, and placed a gentle hand squarely across her sternum, stopping her dead. Even through her suit, Aleks could feel Natalia’s heart racing. She had pushed herself too hard today. “Это порядок, Natalia.” **_That’s an order._** Aleks pushed her again, into the shade of one of the overhanging rocks, and lifted a hand to her ear. “Sam, you and Natalia hang back to make sure we aren’t being followed.” Natalia’s lips thinned, and her jaw worked. Aleks resisted smiling; she had never liked being ordered around, and she couldn’t help but picture Natalia at ten years old, giving her the exact same look.

“ _You got it._ ”

Aleks waited until Sam had touched down before starting after the refugees. She tapped at her comm-unit again, opening a private channel to Sam. “Make sure she gets some rest, but be ready for my call if we need backup.”

“ _Understood_.” Sam’s voice was serious. Unlike her Natalia, he had no issue taking orders. Probably something to do with his military background – Aleks wasn’t going to complain. She held back at the lip of the next valley, searching the fifty or so people for Steve. He was at the very front, easily recognizable by his broad form, and the fact he had three children in his grip; one slung over his back, and two in his grip. As if he could feel her eyes on her, he turned and met her gaze. A small flash of relief crossed his face, and he nodded.

From her position, she could see where the rocky valleys ended and the green-brown of the grassland begun. She squinted at a flash of metal in the distance; hoping it was the transport they’d been promised.

One of the women towards the back had begun to falter, and Aleks’ gaze snapped to her as she stumbled with a cry. A few of the Yemeni around her tried to catch her, and as she was lowered to the ground, a child began to cry. Aleks hurried over to the cluster of women, the ones standing shrinking away at her approach, and leaving her path to the fallen woman clear. Her heart stuttered at the sight of the tiny baby strapped tightly to the young woman’s chest. It was squalling, pale and yellowed, belly distended; as malnourished as its mother. Dropping to her knees beside them, she fished through her belt for the emergency nutrition pouches, offering them to the woman. The woman looked close to unconsciousness, but there was no mistaking the hesitation and wariness on her face. “للطفل ...” **_For the child…_** Aleks whispered, trying not to frighten them further. Whatever fear she had beholding Aleksandrina was clearly wiped out in the face of her maternal instinct. The woman snatched the pouches and tore them open with shaking hands.

The paste inside was hardly Michelin star quality, and Aleks had to look away at the groan of pleasure let out by the woman, feeling her chest tighten with distant rage. _To treat other humans like this…_ she distracted herself by handing out the rest of the pouches to the nervous women hovering around them. “من فضلك امتلك واحدة و مرر الآخرين.” **_Please have one, and pass along the others._** They nodded, seemingly glad to have a task that would take them away from her. Aleks sighed to herself quietly and turned back to the mother, who was cooing at her child, trying rub a bit of the paste onto its tongue. “ما اسم ابنك؟” **_What is your child’s name?_**

“Abdul.” The woman answered with far less reluctance. Her jaw worked, and her eyes got watery as the child began to scream again. “لن يأكل!” **_He won’t eat!_** Her frustration and despair were palpable, a tear running from her eye to mingle with the sweat beading at her temple. Aleks debated for a moment, before she tugged off her glove. Moving slow enough for the woman to avoid her if she wished, she pressed her hand first to the woman’s forehead, watching the way her eyelids fluttered at the cool touch of her skin. Then she gently stroked the babe’s forehead, right between his eyebrows. One of the mothers of her merry band of children back in Wakanda had taught her the trick. Slowly, the trigger point and the low temperature of her skin worked its magic, and as Abdul yawned, his mother was able to sneak a dab of the paste on his tongue.

“اتسمح لى بمساعدتك؟” **_May I assist you?_** Aleks sat back on her haunches, and met the young woman’s gaze. Almost shyly, the woman nodded. Aleks reached for her, snaking an arm under the crook of the woman’s knees and the other around her back, standing slowly so not to wake Abdul.

“ما اسمك؟” **_What is your name?_** The woman seemed over her fear now, and asked her question timidly but curiously. “لماذا تساعدنا؟” **_Why are you helping us?_**

Aleks considered her answers as she picked her way down the rocky slope, a little slower with the added weight. They were not supposed to be there, they were not supposed to compromise their identity in any way, and yet… and yet… “اسمي هو Aleks.” She watched the woman mouth the name to herself, taking a large step over a dried out tree branch. “ونحن هنا لأنك في حاجة إليها. لأنك تستحقها.” **_And we are here because you need it. Because you deserve it._**

“شكرا لك.” **_Thank you._** The woman’s voice was small, and Aleks pretended not to see the tears building in her eyes again. “اسمي هو Abia.” **_My name is Abia._**

Aleks softened her features as best she could, giving Abia a small smile. The girl couldn’t be much older than Wanda. “من اللطيف مقابلتك صديق.” **_It’s nice to meet you, friend._** The ground was evening out now, allowing Aleks to catch up to the main party. “يمكنك الراحة ، Abia, سأراقب Abdul.” **_You may rest, Abia, I will watch over Abdul._** She could feel the last of Abia’s tension bleed from her body as she spoke – almost as if she had been waiting for permission – her eyes sliding shut near immediately.

It was growing late; Aleks looked at the low saddle of the sun on the horizon and to Steve, still leading the group ahead of her. “We won’t make it before nightfall. Not at this pace.” She spoke lowly, trying not to wake the woman in her arms.

Steve didn’t turn back to look at her, but she watched his own glance to the sky. “ _I know… but we can’t afford to stop and make camp.”_

“ _I can fly ahead and confirm the pickup point.”_ Sam spoke up, “ _We seem to be clear on the back end. Guess they’re too busy with clean up back in Hudaydah.”_ Aleks didn’t respond, but clearly her smugness was obvious in her silence, because Sam snorted. “ _Yeah, yeah – you are the master, Aleks – I will never doubt you again.”_ She could practically hear his eyeroll.

Aleks sniffed delicately. “I didn’t say anything, Wilson.”

 _“You didn’t have to.”_ Natalia said dryly. “ _Sam and I are on the move now, there’s no sense not to let them know we’re on our way.”_

Aleks took another look at the grasslands beyond them. Where the rocks stopped, they _stopped_ – there was no cover to be seen in the large stretch of flat earth between them and main road. Something about the wide open plain made her uneasy. “I would rather we went together.”

“ _I’ll be quick, Frosty – no need to worry.”_ Sam sounded cavalier, and Steve’s low hum of agreement told her she was outnumbered. “ _Steve?”_

“ _Yeah, go on, Sam. Let them know we’ll be arriving in the dark.”_

Aleks pursed her lips, listening to the dull whoosh of Sam’s suit powering up, and then turning her face to the sky to watch her friend’s passage. Some of the children still awake pointed and cried out excitedly at the flash of gold sunset reflecting off Sam’s wings. She watched him go, and let out a low breath as he disappeared down near the road. _Safe._

“ _Yep, these are our guys. Said they’ll wait right where they are. I don’t think they’re wanting to hang around much longer either.”_ Sam spiralled up into the sky again, now a black dot against a steadily darkening indigo sky. Aleks absently fished out her torch, handing it to the nearest Yemini. She could see well enough in the dark, but the people couldn’t. Ahead of her, Steve had also paused to hand out torches and glowsticks. “ _See now, that wasn’t so bad. You know, paranoia must be genetic. You Romanovs are so-”_

There was a sudden loud crack, and Aleksandrina watched in horror as Sam dropped like a stone, his comm link buzzing out.

“ _Sam!”_ Steve was already running, and in her arms Abdul began to wail, Abia blinking awake in terrified confusion.

“ _What just happened?”_ Natasha’s voice was sharp and tight, and Aleks set down Abia with a growing sense of ice.

“Steve, stop where you are!” Aleks barked into the comms,

Steve was still running, already in the grass. In his wake, the Yemeni refugees were milling around anxiously. “ _I have to get to Sam!”_

Aleks let out a low involuntary snarl, reaching for the nearest torch and crushing it in her grip. The light went out and the woman that had been holding it whimpered in fright. “Rogers, that is an _order_. Get back to the convoy. Sam was hit by a sniper, and you’re about to step out into the open. Natalia, мне сейчас.” **_To me, now._** Steve skidded reluctantly to a halt, as a bullet burst into the ground where he would have been. The second shot made the refugees scream and duck for cover and Aleksandrina cupped her hands around her mouth. “تخلص من الأضواء!” **_Get rid of the lights!_** She bellowed, watching as the terrified procession followed her orders, torches going out, glow sticks buried or thrown as far as they could muster. “Wilson, if you are receiving, stay low and still.”

There was no answer from Sam, and Aleks refused to think about why.

There couldn’t have been many of them. Aleks scanned the dark landscape and tried to make out anything but grass waving gently in the breeze. There couldn't have been many or they would have seen them earlier. _But who were they?_ Houthi, or some other enemy?

Aleks didn’t exactly care. Whoever they were, they were blocking their path and they had shot down her friend. She had done a lot worse for a lot less.

“Orders?” Natalia’s silent arrival had not startled her, and she turned to give her niece a brief appraising look. There was no trace of exhaustion on her features now, just a quiet determination, edged with a cold rage Aleksandrina knew well.

“Я полагаю, вы помните свое обучение окружающей среде.” **_I assume you remember your environment training._** Aleks began to make her way through the trembling crowd. Natalia followed, no more than a few inches between them, steps in time, breath in time, synchronized.

Natalia smiled, a flash of dark humour. “Как будто это было вчера.” **_Like it was yesterday._**

Steve appeared out of the darkness, breathing hard enough that she could see it. He was jittery, furious and pained and hopped up on adrenaline and he glowered at her when she got close enough. “He’s still out there!” He hissed, jabbing his finger at the plain, at the dark expanse before them. “And you’re just-”

“Stay here.” Aleks was uncowed by his anger. “You are all they have. Natalia and I will give you the all clear when it is time.”

“I’m not just going to sit here whilst you-”

“Steve.” It was Natasha who spoke now, comforting, a hand on his shoulder. Aleks had tuned him out, turned towards the grasslands, and testing the sharpness of her blades against the exposed pad of her thumbs. She checked her guns as Natasha murmured to Steve, talking him down from his righteous bluster. Natasha had her infrared goggles on when she returned, and Aleks couldn’t help the brief flash of amusement she felt at the bug-like visage her niece presented. “Вы могли бы быть к нему добрее. Sam just-” **_You could be kinder to him._**

“Sam is out there. I will not hear about his death until we confirm it.” Aleks cut her off, and crouched to dribble some of her canteen’s water into the dust at her feet, turning it to mud. “Are you ready?” Natalia nodded, and moved into the grass. Once she was a few feet in, she crouched, and Aleks lost her to the long grass and shadows. Natalia was silent and didn’t create any evidence of movement.

Aleks dug her fingers into the mud, and smeared it across her face. Her natural paleness was a disadvantage; her skin would reflect moonlight and make her easier to see and she did not want to be seen even when she would be visible. She stood, took a few steps into the grass, and phased out. _It was time to go hunting._

* * *

He could hear his own heartbeat.

It seemed so loud it would give away his position, even if the rational part of his brain told him it was impossible.

Sam resisted the urge to hold his breath, and tried not to think about the growing heat and wet coming from his neck. _It wasn’t a direct hit._ _It can’t have been, otherwise his ass would have been dead before he hit the ground. God fucking damnit._

He should have been more careful, he should have done a thermal scan, he should have listened to Aleks, he should have done a million things – but he hadn’t. He hadn’t, and now he was lying in some dried up fucking field in the middle of fucking Yemen, praying that he’d keep breathing and that the first person to find him wasn’t whoever shot him out of the fucking sky.

For a moment, his imagination wandered, and he thought about how Riley must have felt when he-

Sam clenched his teeth, and listened to his heart and told himself that Riley wouldn’t have felt much of anything, because Riley got blown to pieces before he even started to free-fall, and he’d been in crashes much worse than this before. Hell, the first time he’d flown with the wings, he’d crashed so hard he broke a leg and both his arms. At least nothing was broken. Well-

Sam took a slightly deeper breath and had to clench his jaw shut to keep from crying out at the sharp pain in his ribs. Okay. Maybe _something_ broken. But at least he was lying on grass and dirt rather than metal or stone. And really, if he closed his eyes and shoved his nose into the greenery he could probably pretend he’d just face planted trying to race Steve again-

A low aborted cry of surprise and pain from somewhere behind him made him stiffen, heart kicking back into high gear, and adrenaline flooding his system. He strained his hearing, muscles trembling with the effort of holding still when every part of him wanted to reach for a weapon to defend himself.

There was nothing but the rustling of wind.

Then – from the opposite direction, a gunshot loud enough to echo off the rocks around the plain. A man yelled out, and then there was a wet gurgle and silence fell again. The grass swayed, and the moon gleamed, and Sam could feel sweat beginning to run down his back beside his own blood. A thud, closer this time, and Sam couldn’t help it, even though Aleks’ instructions had been clear, he began to reach for the gun still strapped to his thigh.

A rustle sounded from above his head, and he whipped his gun up and around, firing a shot into the brush.

“Easy, tiger.” Sam felt his heart stutter, both with surprise at the sudden voice, and sheer, overwhelming relief. He turned, lying back on his side, to face Natasha, who stepped into the small crater he had created. She was smiling in manufactured amusement, but she was close enough and he knew her well enough to recognise the same relief reflecting back at him. Her hair was pulled back off her face by a pair of heavy looking night-vision goggles, and there were smears of blood on her left cheek.

Sam grinned at her. “Girl, I have never been so glad to see you. Has anyone ever told you those goggles really suit you?” Natasha rolled her eyes.

“Why are you shooting at the grass?” The sudden cool voice from his feet made him yelp embarrassingly, whipping around to meet Aleksandrina’s raised brow and unamused eyes, startling against the dirt smeared inexplicably across her face. Sam felt his own face grow sheepish, and he offered the tall woman a smile. She glared at him, but reached for his limp right wing, lifting it off his body with an ease that belied her enhanced strength. He accepted her outstretched hand and let her pull him to his feet even as his ribs screamed in protest and the congealing wound at his neck began to bleed again. He winced once he was upright, and tried to hide his pain as Aleksandrina gave him a long look. “Next time I say we go together, we go together.” Her voice was cold, but she touched the wound on his neck with impossible gentleness, her pale brows creasing.

“Yes, ma’am.” He tried to salute her, but raising his arm just made him hiss.

“Okay.” It was Aleks’ turn to roll her eyes. She turned to Natasha, Sam watching as his friend straightened her posture near imperceptibly under the older woman’s gaze. “How many?”

“Two.” Natasha answered.

Aleks nodded. “And three for me.” She turned to him again, and Sam fought the urge to straighten too. “Is Redwing still operational?”

Sam tapped at his controls. The exo-pack holstering his little friend gave a weak electric chirp. He winced. “Yeah, but he’s feeling a little sorry for himself.”

“Scan the plain for anymore thermal signatures. I am confident that we have cleared the area, but I want to be sure.” Aleks lifted her hand to her comm as Redwing zipped into the air. “Steve, you can begin leading the people through.”

 _“Is everyone okay?_ ” Sam winced again at the low note of sorrow in Steve’s voice, and moved closer to Aleks, ignoring her faintly displeased lean away, and spoke as close to her comm unit as possible.

“Hey man, all good out here.”

“ _Sam! You had us worried, buddy.”_ The relief in Steve’s voice was palpable. Sam grinned at Aleks, who scowled at him faintly, and turned away to talk to Natasha in Russian. Sam narrowed his eyes at them. He was about 90% sure that they were talking about him, but couldn’t prove it. Paranoia may have run in the Romanov bloodline, but so did impeccable poker faces. He and Steve had begun trying to learn the language – secretly of course, because they didn’t want the women to know when they were onto them – but they were both struggling with the Cyrillic alphabet. He should probably just bite the bullet and ask one of them to teach him.

Sam watched as Aleks hefted the exo-pack and wings across her shoulders without so much as a change in expression. She turned to look at the horizon, at the road ahead, and for a moment, Sam thought he saw a flash of despair cross her face. But then she was marching onwards, Natasha slipping under his arm to help him walk, and he thought it must have been a trick of the moonlight.

Aleksandrina didn’t strike him as the type to despair about… well, anything.


	3. Wakanda, 2018

**April 7th, 2018**

**Wakanda, Africa**

* * *

“-Never mind the damage you did to the armouring! You know it’s supposed to be bulletproof, not _artillery-proof?_ And look at this. I can’t get blood out of this material! I’m gonna have to-”

Aleksandrina saw the second Shuri realised she wasn’t absorbing her rant. The young girl’s face tightened in a remarkable impression of her mother, and she scowled. “You’re not even listening, are you?”

“I’m sorry, Princess.” Aleks bowed her head slightly. Shuri’s scowl turned exasperated.

“It’s _Shuri._ ” Shuri pouted slightly, leaning into Aleks’ space to meet her eyes. Aleks resisted the urge to recoil from her closeness. “I’m sorry too. You must be exhausted.” Her doe eyes were round in childish concern, and Aleks couldn’t help but smile gently at her.

She laughed slightly, reaching up to scratch her face. The mud she’d mostly washed off came flaking off under her nails. “I’m alright, Shuri.”

“Leave the suit with someone. I’ll probably have to scrap it and start over.” Shuri sighed dramatically, almost turning to go before her hand darted out to the small braid woven through with silver thread that hung next to her left ear. Aleks caught her wrist before she could reach it, before relenting and letting Shuri tug on it. She still remembered Shuri’s happy chatter as she sat and wove the braid, not two weeks after she had met the girl. Her heart was suddenly heavy with an ache she didn’t recognise, and she watched Shuri skitter away with something like longing.

She shook her head slightly, ridding herself of the emotion, and wincing at the ache in her neck and shoulders. Sam was in medical, Steve and Natalia already cleaned up and on a jet to the UK, and for the first time in a while, Aleks was alone.

* * *

She bypassed the med-bay entirely, stripping out of her suit and leaving it in the lab, and drifting invisible towards her rooms. She wasn’t in the mood for more prodding and poking, and she was feeling her mask slip. She was tired.

Aleks stood under the steaming spray, hands braced against the smooth tile of the backwall, trying to decide if it would be too much to just slide to the bottom of the shower. She wanted to. She wanted to melt into the hot water and spiral into nothing, because it was just so fucking-

Hands. Hands on the naked skin of her back and hip-

Aleks whirled with a snarl, the knife she had hidden behind the shampoo in her grip, already slicing down in a vicious stroke-

Her partner caught her wrist with ease, an almost smile playing around his mouth. His metal hand deftly snatched the knife from her grip, whilst the hand still on her hip tightened slightly. “Jumpy, huh?”

“Get out.” She didn’t know why she said it, she didn’t know why it came out with such venom, didn’t know why the sight of him made her so much more exhausted.

James blinked at her, a few water droplets falling from his lashes and running down the smooth planes of his face. “Aleks…” even his voice grated upon her. He looked…happy. Well – confused now, but still impossibly perfect. She felt like ash and dirt, and the blood staining the water at their feet. “Darlin’ – _whoa!_ ” She had stumbled – swayed really – losing her balance for a moment, as the rushing of the water drowned out everything else. It took her a moment to blink past the black dots swirling in her vision.

James eased her down to the floor, supporting most of her weight as she scrabbled weakly at the tiles. “Все хорошо.” **_I’m fine._** She muttered, breathing in steam and avoiding his eyes. “I’m sorry for before.” It came out short and tense again, but he shook his head.

“Honey, you look terrible… and you’re _still_ bleeding.”

She fixed him with a baleful look, close enough to see the myriad of blue and grey in his irises. “That tends to happen after missions.” She planted her palms under herself, and made to hoist herself up again. His arms bracketed her in, and he ducked his head even closer, and the water ran down their foreheads and dripped down their chins, and she felt the awful urge to _cry._ What was wrong with her?

“When did you sleep last?” He murmured to her, so quietly that if she hadn’t had enhanced hearing, she would have missed it.

Her instinct was to lie. She had already revealed too much weakness and there was worry in his eyes that she didn’t want him to be burdened with. But instead, she met his eyes and whispered just as softly; “I can’t sleep without you.” _And I miss you._ She almost said it. she almost admitted to the one person that shouldn’t – _couldn’t_ – hear it.

He kissed her, tremulously, cupping his fingers around her jaw as if she might fade away. “Come to bed.” He told her, the words against her mouth. She let him pick her up as if she were a babe, let him wrap her in a towel and carry her into their bedroom. She saw it when he did; the untouched covers, the only evidence of life her gun on her nightstand. It looked as if no one had slept there in months, and when he set her down atop the covers his mouth was set in a tight line. “Aleks-”

She was still naked, and she let go of the towel to kiss him. It wasn’t hard to draw his hands to her body again, and though she knew it was wrong to avoid whatever he was going to say, she couldn’t bring herself to feel guilty. _She had missed him so much._

His hands skated down her spine, and lifted her with two firm palms under her ass, and he threw her bodily up the mattress, dropping his own towel to press the length of his body against hers. She reached between them to wrap her fingers around his cock, stroking it hard enough to make him grunt. She worked him to fullness, before bucking her own hips to upseat him, reversing their positions.

He looked up at her, a little dazedly, and she licked a thin line from his pecs to his mouth just because she could. It made him pant and jump in her hand, and she straddled him quickly, sinking down on the full length of him. It hurt a little, feeling him so suddenly after so long, but she paid her discomfort no mind, focussed on drawing more delicious noises from her partner. She rode him hard, her already sore legs screaming for relief, but he was looking at her in wonder and letting out bitten off noises that made her gut curl in pleasure. Before long, he was meeting her halfway, thrusting up into her and clutching her hips hard enough to bruise. She leant over him, still undulating above him, and kissed him.

“Приди, моя милая.” **_Come for me, my sweet._**

He groaned her name, and she felt him spill into her. He lay lax for a moment, panting and twitching inside of her, before he was up like a shot, eyes wide. “Did you-?” Aleks gently pulled his hands from her body, and got off him.

“I’m just going to clean up.” She told him, pressing him firmly into the mattress. He reached for again, and she phased out, pretending not to see his frown as his hands went through her.

Aleks shut the bathroom door behind herself, locking it, and leant against it. She just needed a moment to-

_Ah, shit._

She wiped hurriedly at the tears spilling embarrassingly down her cheeks and met her own eyes in the mirror. She looked…small. Weak. Pale and tired looking, skin stretching too tight over her bones, eyes red and teary.

She couldn’t be seen like this.

* * *

By the time she had pulled herself together enough to be seen, it was dark in their bedroom.

Aleks tried not to let it hurt her.

Instead, she padded silently over to her side of the bed, and Phased between the covers. Her partner was turned away from her, the broad expanse of his back exposed to her. Her hand lingered between them for a moment, almost on his shoulder blade before her nerve failed her. _Was she so weak? Did she have to ask him to hold her to keep the night at bay?_

Aleks turned over on to her side, tugging her knees to her chest and breathing slowly through her nose. She did not like to think of HYDRA, nor did she ever reminisce with any semblance of wistfulness, but in that moment she thought almost fondly of the dreamless, chemical sleeps that she had once known.

Everything was still for a long moment, and Aleks was beginning to count the slow breaths of her partner, when he shifted beside her. She held very still as he turned over towards her, as his chest squashed gracelessly into her back, as his arm came snaking over her waist, anchoring her to him with his palm flat against her belly. This close, she could feel the pulse of his heart through her scapula.

“What’s wrong?”

He whispered it into the nape of her neck, tickling the short strands of hair there. Aleks didn’t move except to breathe, eyes wide and staring into the dark beyond. “Aleks? Are you awake?” they both listened for a long moment, before he sighed slightly. “I love you, you know?”

He didn’t speak again, but he didn’t relax his tight grip upon her, and Aleks closed her eyes and pretended they were in Paris again.

* * *

**April 20 th, 2018 **

**Wakanda, Africa**

* * *

“ _Did you know that they eat it? For fun?”_ Wanda paused for a moment to hold a delicate hand over her mouth. Aleks smiled slightly. Wanda had a hidden melodrama to her, and it was always nice to see it come out when she was feeling particularly excited. “ _I can’t wait to try it.”_

“ _I thought you were disgusted by it.”_ Aleks said mildly, hefting Wanda’s luggage over the threshold of her temporary rooms.

“Have you ever had it?” Wanda’s voice changed self-consciously to English, and Aleks turned to see T’Challa and Shuri standing at the end of the corridor, both in Royal garb – Shuri even in Wakandan sandals, so Aleks knew something was going on.

“Haggis? I have actually – but that was well before the FSS was formed, so I’m sure mine was quite different to what you’ll be having.” Aleks nodded at the two royals as they approached. “Good morning, Royal Highnesses.”

“Aleks…” Wanda hissed at her, and Aleks felt a nervous touch on her free hand. “ _We should stop and-”_

“Aleksandrina, I hope that you have slept well. Miss Maximoff, it is good to see you in such high spirits.” T’Challa was as polite as ever, inclining his head in greeting. Wanda stuttered through a nervous response, almost folding into a bow before Aleks placed a calming hand on the nape of her neck. “Aleksandrina, I have a favour to ask of you.”

“Anything, Your Highness,” Aleks responded immediately. “Just as soon as I have seen Wanda on her way.”

“ _Aleks, you shouldn’t-”_ Wanda began in Sokovian, twisting her hands together.

Aleks patted her once on the shoulder. “She is my priority.” Wanda dropped her head, and Shuri grinned. Aleks shot the young Princess a wink. T’Challa half-smiled at the pair of them.

“Of course. It is a simple matter.” T’Challa bowed his head and stepped aside. Aleks steered Wanda past them, ignoring her whispered protests.

Wanda flicked a spark of red energy at her, searing into the exposed skin of her forearm. Aleks tutted absently, picking up the young woman’s duffle bag to balance it on her shoulder. “Do you have a toothbrush?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have the emergency card?”

“Yes! I know how to pack a bag!” Wanda groaned, and Aleks grinned at her, throwing her free arm around the girl’s shoulders and shaking her slightly.

“I am excited for you! Can you blame me?”

Wanda’s irritated face cracked slightly, a smile turning up the corners of her mouth. “No.” She bit her bottom lip, suddenly looking up at Aleks in concern. “Are you sure Steve is okay with this?”

Aleks shrugged. “No. But it isn’t his decision.” Wanda’s face fell, and Aleks squeezed her again. “If Steve had his way, all of us would be shut up in a house somewhere so he keep an eye on us at all times. You are an adult, and you should be free to make your own decisions. And I told you; Sam, James and I have your back on this.”

Steve had not been at all happy to hear about Wanda’s – as he called it – ridiculous idea to go and stay with Vision. Steve didn’t want Wanda to be shut up and powered down, but he wasn’t comfortable with the idea of her being so far away. Aleks knew part of it was guilt, but the main part was Steve’s incurable worry – he cared so deeply, and he liked to protect the people he considered under his wing. It was just a matter of expressing it – which he either struggled with or didn’t do at all.

“And Natasha?” Wanda worried at her lip again, eyes on their feet as they headed out to the landing platform.

“Natalia will come around once she sees you are abiding to the conditions.” Aleks waved to the Wakandan pilot sitting patiently in the cockpit. The pilot nodded in response, and the engines fired up with a low hum. They paused at the loading ramp, and Aleks handed over Wanda’s luggage. With a flitter of her fingers, red magic dancing around her fingertips, Wanda sent the bag floating inside the jet. Aleks watched the casual display of ability with the same muted awe she always did. _Magic. It never got old._

“ _I’m going to miss you.”_ Wanda said suddenly, turning to look at her with a fierceness Aleks understood. She had come to care deeply for the broken girl before her. Wanda reminded her of herself; and Aleks wanted nothing more than for Wanda to experience a full and sweet life.

“ _And I you, little witch. Don’t forget to check in regularly.”_ Aleks lifted one arm, Wanda throwing both of her own around her neck and hugging her close. Aleks breathed in the sweet-paprika scent that seemed to hang around the other woman, and stroked a hand over her hair.

“ _You should tell him how you feel.”_ Wanda said, speaking into the crook of her neck. “ _You should tell him you miss him.”_

Aleks wet her lips slowly, staring up at the bright blue sky. “ _I can’t burden him with that.”_

Wanda stepped back, brow creased. “ _He will never see you as a burden.”_ Aleks didn’t know what to say in return. Wanda smiled slightly. “I will speak to you soon!” With one last wave, she ascended into the aircraft. 

Aleks stood on the landing pad and watched the jet disappear into the distance, until it vanished entirely as it passed through the invisibility field. Footsteps behind her made her turn to see Okoye. The tall woman had her eternal glare on, but Aleks thought she knew the impenetrable woman well enough to recognise a hint of warmth on her features. “General.” Aleks greeted, bowing her head to the other woman.

Okoye inclined her head in greeting. “The King and Princess have been requested at a peace summit in Norway.”

“Am I playing the invisible bodyguard again?” Aleks asked, already imagining the strain of such a mission.

“The Queen Mother and I would feel more comfortable if you did, yes.” Okoye never beat around the bush, something Aleks appreciated immensely. “We leave in an hour.”

Aleks nodded again. She had meant what she said; she would do anything for the Royal Family that permitted her sanctuary. It would be a tedious and tiring trip, but she would do worse if they asked. Perhaps she could ask if her partner could-

No.

He was in cyro again. _For the last time –_ as he had excitedly proclaimed early on Monday. He had said the same thing enough times that Aleks had given up hoping.


	4. Scotland, 2018

**May 30 th, 2018**

**Wakanda, Africa**

* * *

Something was wrong.

Something was very, very wrong.

Aleks had woken to alarms blaring before, she’d woken to buildings dropped on top of her, she’d woken to a bullet in her belly, she’d woken to snowstorms and fire – but she’d not woken with such fear to such a quiet noise before.

Aleks had set up a program that would monitor world news for her. Thanks to Shuri, she had a global range – every breaking headline got filtered through an algorithm to detect anomaly. When she woke up to three separate chimes, she nearly broke the laptop trying to open it in her haste.

_ALIEN ATTACK IN GREENWICH VILLAGE_

An American headline, beeping rapidly at the sheer volume of footage and news stories.

_UFO SIGHTED OVER LONDON_

A British YouTube link, the alarm picking up intensity as more and more sightings poured in.

_AVENGERS ENGAGE ALIEN THREAT IN NEW YORK_

Right.

Aleks shut the laptop and picked up her mobile, pressing speed dial as she raced for the door. It was nearing midnight, and the corridors of the residential wing were silent. Aleks found no obstacles as she raced for the labs.

Steve picked up on the second ring. “ _Aleks, is everything okay?”_

For a moment, ice froze the words on her tongue. Old training made her ruthless, made her sharp, but it occasionally struck her dumb. She jabbed the elevator button, and forced herself to speak. “Suit up, Steve. Meet me in the hangar.” She hung up as the elevator opened for her, and stepped inside.

London was too close.

Too close to Wanda, who had been bad enough about checking in that Steve was about a day away from going to get her anyway. And now this-

Aleks forced herself to calm, typing out a text to Natalia with fingers that did not shake. Hopefully Shuri had finished her new suit, because her old instincts were telling her it was about to get ugly.

The lab was abandoned at the late hour, and as she Phased through the doors, she sent a silent apology to Shuri for trespassing. She knew the young Princess got twitchy about people in her lab without permission, and she was about to walk all over those boundaries. She searched the lab twice before she found it; her newest suit, lying under soft LED lighting – but only half-finished.

_Damn._

Aleks took a second look at the construction, noting the sheer amount of panelling on the new suit. She tilted her head, intrigued to see how the panels seemed to vanish at different angles. It seemed to be reflective in a way that turned it invisible, like a desert mirage. Incredible – but currently useless.

Her eyes fell on the display one workspace over. Her partner’s old vest and tactical gear were sitting on a custom mannequin, and on the table behind it, she was surprised to see a similar looking suit in the same state of construction as her suit. Next to that, there was an arm, in shades of black and gold, and Aleks felt something stir low in her gut. _Surely he wouldn’t mind if she just…borrowed it._

A few moments later, Aleks stood straight and took in her reflection in the mirrored wall opposite the workstations. Her partner’s vest fit her differently, and she had tightened the straps and her belt as tight as they would go to keep it from slipping down her torso. It made her look larger; broader shouldered, wider hipped, and the pants made her lower half just as solid. She looked a little less constrained, a little less tempered.

She looked like a soldier.

* * *

**May 31 st, 2018**

**Edinburgh, Scotland**

* * *

“How the hell are we going to find them in time?” Sam sounded, understandably, frantic.

It hadn’t been more than an hour after they had taken off that Steve had received his own phone call, from a Doctor Bruce Banner, who Aleks understood had only just returned to earth. She was honestly still trying to wrap her head around the whole ‘adventures in outer space’ thing.

She had been bound in place, in time, for so long – that it seemed impossible there were whole worlds, whole lives, whole stories, just out of her reach. And now this; Thanos. This creature that threatened to erase all she had ever known. Aleks had been inactive during the 2012 attack on New York, but Natalia and Steve had been on the front lines. It showed.

They were both a little unfocused, eyes far away. They were stuck in their own dark memories, facing their own demons. She knew what trauma looked like, what PTSD presented as.

It left her and Sam in conscious charge.

Aleks cast a cursory look at her phone, eyeing the small geolocation tag she was tracking. It had been still for a while, but about half an hour ago, it had started moving very slowly through the Old Town of Edinburgh. “We’re close. I put a tracker on Wanda.”

“You did what?” Steve spoke for the first time since he’d received the phone call, and Aleks twisted around to meet his incredulous eyes.

She shrugged. “I’ve put trackers on all of you.” Steve blinked, looking down at himself as if the tracker would pop out and reveal itself. As if it would be that easy to find. She did, in fact, have trackers on all of them – plus a couple on her partner, and a few on Shuri. She felt safer having a way to find them. Just in case.

“That is a _wild_ invasion of privacy.” Sam’s tone was jovial, as it usually was, but Aleks could hear his underlying tension. He was always playing that role; that of the merry optimist.

She would play along too, if only to stop Steve from retreating back into himself. She sniffed with false righteousness. “Hardly. They are for emergencies only.”

“Where’s mine?” Sam began to look down at himself too, and from behind her, Aleks could hear rustling as Steve began to check himself.

“I’m not telling you that.” She said coolly. Natalia’s slim arm appeared over her shoulder, hand outstretched. With a small tinkle, her niece dropped one of the microtrackers onto the dashboard of the jet. Aleks sighed as Natalia retreated silently back to her seat. “Well done, Natalia.”

“What? Where was yours?” Sam twisted indignantly to stare at Natasha. The red head grinned – artificial but still bright – and fiddled with her zipper. Aleks smiled to herself. That _was_ where it had been, but her niece still hadn’t found the other two. “Oh, shit-”

“Sam.” Aleks had taken a look at the transmitter, and registered the sudden movement of the blip she was tracking. “Something’s wrong. They’re moving too quickly.”

“Shit. We’re five minutes out.” Sam hit the thrusters, and set the engine to autopilot. Without a word, Natasha stood, and came to stand behind the pilot’s chair. As Sam slipped out to put on his exo-pack, Natasha smoothly switched into the controls.

“Ты в порядке?” **_Are you alright?_** Aleks didn’t take her eyes off the blip, spoke softly enough that Sam couldn’t hear her, and quiet enough to tell Steve not to eavesdrop.

Natalia kept her gaze on the horizon. “Я буду, когда мы получим Vision.” **_I will be when we get Vision._** Her phone began to buzz as they arrived atop the tracker’s signal. They were above a large glass building, Aleks recognizing as a train station. For a moment, they were still and silent, and then Aleks felt it.

A flare of bright red – _Wanda_ – from beneath them spurred them into action.

As smoothly as replacing a mask, Steve stood and squared his shoulders. “We don’t know what we’re facing, but the objective is the same. Get Vision and Wanda on board. Keep the Stone safe.”

 _The Stone._ The yellow gem on Vision’s forehead that had caused her so much grief back in Germany. Aleks didn’t think she _wanted_ to understand exactly what it was. But it didn’t matter.

_Nothing mattered but the mission._

When Steve leapt from the jet, she followed without thought, without question. _Nothing but the mission._

* * *

It was dark in the station.

What they faced was darker still. Aleks hadn’t ever seen anything – _anyone_? – like the two beings across the tracks from them. The woman, if she could call it that, was tall and lean and _blue_ , with horns like a ram, spiralling from the crown of her misshapen head. The male was similarly hideous, more grey than blue, and more cat-like than the woman. A late night train rattled by, and Wanda rose to her feet. Aleks could see the determination in the set of her thin shoulders, and the weakness in her legs. Wanda was tired, Vision was down.

Aleks released the Grey and she and Steve flickered into visibility.

She saw the instant the pair of aliens spotted her and Steve, saw the instant they registered them as a threat. The woman hurled her glowing spear at them impossibly quickly, speaking to the obviously superhuman strength she possessed. Aleks phased out, and Steve caught the spear in the negative space where she had been. The woman grunted in surprise, taking a minute step away at their actions. _Good._ The coldest parts of her began to whisper. _Off guard and frightened. Good._ Wanda was bleeding, Aleks could smell the edge of it in the air, and it made her angry. She began to walk towards them.

The woman tensed again, ready to charge, but Aleks had already caught sight of Sam. Her friend rocketed towards the aliens with no hesitation, and Aleks almost smiled at how easily the woman was bowled over by Sam’s donkey kick. She went flying into the glass display of the station café, and Aleks broke into a run. Not a moment too soon.

The male wasn’t as surprised, and even as Sam banked sharply, he already had his sceptre up and aiming. Aleks unholstered her gun, and fired three quick shots, disrupting his aim and letting Sam get out of the danger zone. The male snarled, and whirled on her, and Natalia appeared from the shadows behind him. The air whistled with the force of movement behind her, and she dropped instinctively – to avoid the backhanded blow of the alien, and just in time for the other alien spear to go flying over her. Natasha caught it without missing a beat, and as Aleks flipped back up onto her feet, her niece had already engaged the male, leaving Aleks’ path to Wanda and Vision free.

The aliens were inhuman, strong, fast – but so were they. Not only did they outnumber the freakish creatures, they had a reason to _care._ Behind her, Aleks heard the male howl in pain, and turned to see Natalia bury the spear into his chest. _Good._

“Aleks!” Wanda’s voice was a cry of fear, and she skidded the last few feet on her knees, dropping beside Wanda and Vision, whose usually bright eyes were dim. “ _Thank god- I’m so sorry-”_

“How badly are you injured?” Aleks interrupted her tersely, catching one of Wanda’s flailing arms, and running her hands over the woman’s arms and torso, feeling for blood or breakage.

“I’m- I’m okay. It’s Vis,” Wanda said breathlessly, shaking free of Alek’s grip and bending over the android again. Tears and red energy swirled in her eyes, and Aleks pulled her back as Vision winced at the touch of her hands. Wanda seemed unaware of the magic pooling in her fingertips.

“Get yourself under control.” She said firmly, and met Vision’s eyes instead. “Can you walk?” she eyed the sparking hole in his torso. Vision set his jaw, and shook his head. _Fine_. That was fine. She would rather he be honest. “Okay, get your arm around-” She paused, frowning. With her hand already on Vision’s chest, she’d attempted to pull him into the Grey with her, a feat usually much easier due to the android’s own phasing ability. All that happened was a gold spark up the metal plates of his torso.

“The spear-” Vision slurred, voice sounding like a run down VCR tape recording, “It’s stopped me from phasing.”

“What?” Aleks turned to look briefly at the scene behind them. Steve, Sam and Natalia were standing over the two aliens. They were wounded, downed, _cowed._ _Good_. As she watched, a blue beam of light poured suddenly from the ceiling, and though she jumped to her feet, it was too late. Without so much as a sound, the aliens were zapped up through the beam. With a ping like a magnet, the spear still in Steve’s grip went flying after them. She turned back to the two behind her.

Wanda met her eyes guiltily, Vision’s own whirring iris out of focus. Aleks tried to soften her features.

“You need to get on the jet. It’s time to go home.”

* * *

**May 31 st, 2018**

**New Avengers Facility, New York**

* * *

Aleks didn’t belong here.

It felt intrinsically true. This facility was a bright mirror image of the ones she had known; recruits training, labs, long corridors, secrets behind doors – but done in white marble, sleek metal and daylight. It was where the good guys lived. And Aleks wasn’t a _good guy._

The last time she had seen Colonel Rhodes, he’d been unconscious on the battlefield. Steve had told her he’d been paralysed, but the man she spotted through the glass doors was standing on his own volition. She eyed the glowing braces on his legs. _Stark, no doubt._ Seeing the man upright didn’t lessen the guilt she felt.

He was talking to Secretary Ross, and as Steve barged into the room she met the old man’s furious glare with a cool stare of her own. She may not have belonged there, but she _needed_ to be there. Vision didn’t seem as immune to Ross’ ire. She felt the android shift uncomfortably against her from where she held him propped up.

“Mr. Secretary.” Steve’s voice was all Captain, but she could hear the undercurrent of derision in his tone.

The holographic figure of the man flickered momentarily, before he took a few steps towards them. “You’ve got some nerve. I’ll give you that.” Nobody missed Ross’ slow and obvious look between Natalia and Aleks, lingering on their new hair and faces. “Must run in the family.” It was meant as in insult, but Natalia’s face didn’t change.

“You could use some of that right now.” Her niece’s voice was ice and steel. Aleks couldn’t have been prouder.

“The world’s on fire, and you think all is forgiven?” Ross ignored her, turning back to Steve.

“I’m not looking for forgiveness. And I’m _way_ past asking for permission.” Steve said. Ross’ eyes dropped to the hollow spot on Steve’s chest, where a star had once been. Aleks never saw Steve remove it, but one mission, he’d shown up without any remnants of the Captain on his uniform. They never spoke about it. “Earth just lost her best defender. So we’re here to fight. And if you wanna stand in our way, we’ll fight you too.”

Ross tried to hold his eyes, he really tried – but he was still the first to look away. He turned to Rhodes. “Arrest them.”

Rhodes smirked. “All over it.” With a flick of his wrist, he ended the call. There was a beat of tense silence, before Rhodes grinned at Steve. “That’s a court-martial. It’s great to see you, Cap.” The two men shook hands, Natalia stepping forwards and hugging Rhodes tight.

“Hey, Rhodey.”

“Wow.” Rhodey turned to Aleks, Wanda, Sam and Vision. “You guys really look like crap. Must’ve been a rough couple of years.”

Sam was smiling, but it was laced with guilt. Aleks didn’t miss her friend’s quick look at Rhodes’ legs. “Yeah, well, the hotels haven’t been exactly five-star.”

“Uh, I think you look great.” A new, nervous voice drew Aleks attention. There was a scruffy looking man shuffling towards them. He was handsome, in a sweet, rugged sort of way, and his eyes spoke of intelligence, but the most interesting thing about him was how viscerally Natalia reacted to him. “Uh,” he chuckled sheepishly, “Yeah, I’m back.”

_Bruce._

“Hi, Bruce.” Natalia spoke as she realised who the man was. Yes, Aleks knew about _Bruce._

“Nat.”

Sam leant closer to her. “This is awkward.” He whispered loudly, and Aleks swatted at him. “Ow!” Sam yelped, drawing the room’s attention again. The tense moment was broken.

* * *

Aleks stood beside Rhodey at the holoscreen, replaying the footage they’d manage to piece together of the subway attack. Despite her misgivings, despite being ready to defend herself – physically or otherwise – Colonel Rhodes had been nothing but polite, and dare she say it, helpful.

She had once again underestimated the depths of the bond between the split members of the Avengers, as well as how much loyalty Steve commanded. It couldn’t have been more than a few hours since their arrival, but Steve had settled, holding the mantle of the Captain once more, directing the room with ease.

“Could you zoom- is that a _female?”_ Rhodes bent closer to the hologram with wide eyes. “What the hell…”

Aleks enlarged the grainy image as best she could. “Yes. A male and a female. Equally disturbing, equally dangerous.”

“Not dangerous enough!” Sam crowed, puffing out his chest. Aleks looked up briefly to shoot him an exasperated look to which he responded with a wink. _Typical._ She smiled anyway.

“We must assume they will return.” Aleks said, frowning at the puddle of holographic blood on the image. They should have collected some; even if it was likely they wouldn’t find anything useful in the alien DNA.

“And they can clearly find us.” Wanda wrapped her arms a little tighter around her torso, eyes unfocussed.

Banner was pacing; he had stayed anxious, physically fretting. It was beginning to rankle on Aleks’ nerves. “We need all hands-on deck. Where’s Clint?”

“After the whole Accords situation, he and Scott took a deal. It was too tough on their families.” Natalia looked troubled. Aleks knew her protégée held an immense amount of guilt because of Barton’s imprisonment. She and Barton had been partners like Aleks and James had been partners, and Aleks knew that kind of working relationship also came with a very real emotional one too. “They’re on house arrest.”

“Who’s Scott?” Banner blinked, looking around the room for answers.

Steve took pity on the confused man. “Ant-Man.”

“There’s an Ant-Man, and a Spiderman?” Banner’s eyes widened further. “Okay, look – Thanos has the biggest army in the universe, and he is not going to stop until he…until he gets,” Aleks followed Banner’s eyes as he stuttered. “Vision’s stone.”

Wanda swallowed thickly, throat working as she tried hard to look unaffected. Aleks fixed Banner with a hard look. “And we will protect it.”

“No.” Vision stood against the window, upright on his own accord and looking a little less beaten up. The yellow gem in his forehead pulsed slightly. “We have to destroy it.” The synthezoid turned to look at them all. “I’ve been giving a good deal of thought to this entity in my head, about its nature. But also its composition.” Vision looked slowly at Wanda. There was pain in his eyes that had nothing to do with his injury. “I think if it were exposed to a sufficiently powerful energy source, something similar to its own signature, perhaps…” Vision moved to stand before the young woman, hands coming up to hold her shoulders, almost bracing her for the blow he had to deliver. “It’s molecular integrity could fail.”

Wanda stared at him. “Yeah, and you with it. We’re not having this conversation.” Though her voice was steady, Aleks caught the edge of a red flicker in Wanda’s irises.

Vision didn’t seem to notice – or care – what the thought was doing to Wanda. “Eliminating the stone is the only way to be certain that Thanos can’t get it.” Vision’s voice was lowered, soothing, his words for Wanda alone.

“That’s too high a price.” Wanda told him.

Vision shook his head, running his hands over her cheeks and holding her. “Only you have the power to pay it.” Wanda wrenched herself free, turning her back on them all. Aleks followed her as she took a few steps away from Vision. “Thanos threatens half the universe. One life cannot stand in the way of defeating him.” Aleks gently touched the back of Wanda’s fist balled at her side. She ignored the sudden pain that went zipping up her arm; some of the red dancing at the young woman’s fingertips retreating as if in apology. Wanda didn’t look at her, but swayed slightly, leaning against Aleks for a moment.

“But it should.” Steve spoke, and Aleks turned to look at him. He looked, for once, his age. His eyes were old and knowing and seeing. “We don’t trade lives, Vision.”

“Captain, seventy-years-ago, you laid down your life to save how many millions of people?” Vision held himself straighter, meeting Steve’s eyes as the Captain moved to face him. “Tell me, why is this any different?”

“Because _you_ might have a choice.” Banner interrupted the pair. “Your mind is made up of a complex construct of overlays; JARVIS, Ultron, Tony, me, the stone. All of them, mixed together, all of them, learning from each other.”

Wanda perked up, turning to look at Banner with hope shining in her clear eyes. “You’re saying Vision isn’t just the stone?”

Banner looked at her, offering a timid smile. “I’m saying, if we take out the stone, there’s still a whole lot of Vision left. Perhaps the best parts.”

“Can we do it?” Natalia asked immediately. Aleks looked to Banner for the answer. If it was possible, Wanda would not suffer and Thanos would lack a vital piece. Perhaps it would cripple him enough to defeat him.

“Not me. Not here.” Banner admitted. Wanda’s face fell, but Aleks was still thinking. If not Banner – then someone with a more gifted mind. Someone with more gifts in general.

“Well, you’d better find someone, and somewhere fast.” Rhodes snapped. “Ross isn’t just going to let you guys have your old rooms back.”

Aleks met Steve’s eyes across the room. She knew someone, and she knew somewhere. From the resignation on Steve’s face, she knew they were thinking along the same lines. It would betray the trust that the royal family had given them, it would destroy centuries of tradition, and yet… and yet…

They had no choice.

“I know somewhere.”

The eyes of the room fell upon her, and she smiled slightly.

“And I know someone.”


	5. Wakanda, 2018

**May 31 st, 2018**

**Wakanda, Africa.**

* * *

“ _Leave a message at the tone-”_

Bucky hung up the call. There was no point leaving another message, the sick worry only grew every time he heard that _beep_.

Their home felt suddenly entirely too small.

Leaving the phone on their table, he left the small cottage and went to stand in the sunlight. Maybe it’d clear away some of the cobwebs and shadows collecting in his fucked up brain. She loved the sun.

_Where are you, Aleks?_

When she woke, he usually did too – it was hard not to be attuned to her every breath, every movement – but he never followed her. He’d watch her though. Aleks would go and stand outside, like a flower waiting for the morning, and she would watch the dawn.

_Where are you, Aleks?_

When she slipped back into bed, she’d be sun warmed and scented like the grass and the dew that collected at night. For the first few minutes, she’d be the same temperature as him, before her core chill brought her back down. The sensory memory of the cool of her skin was as clear to him as the grasslands around him.

_Where are you, Aleks?_

She had been distant lately. Or, perhaps she’d been distant for a while. _Fuck._ He’d been in and out of cyro for months. Maybe that was why. She had said she was happy, though, that she was proud, that she wanted him whole, that she _understood_ \- Bucky raised his only hand to press at the growing ache at his temples. He knew she was probably with Steve somewhere. That was his only comfort now – he trusted them both to watch the other.

_Where are, you Aleks?_

It didn’t make it any easier to be without her. _God, he was embarrassingly co-dependent._ It was like those uncertain months after they left HYDRA. The wanting, the needing, the waiting. He wondered if this was how she had felt through the years when he had been on ice, and she had been in that room. He hadn’t thought about that depressing cell for a while, but even with the wide space and fresh air surrounding him, it was far too easy to conjure the four concrete walls and prison bunks, the smell of mildew and rust, and _her._ Her putting him in bed, her splashing water on his face, her watching him with knife-sharp eyes, her, her, her, her-

He wasn’t alone.

He turned, instinct and training making him fast and sharp, and if he’d had a weapon it’d already be up and aimed at the small party making their way towards him. He recognised Okoye and T’Challa at once. His stomach dropped at their heavy expressions, at the distinct _lack_ of his partner beside them.

He forced himself to be still, forced himself to calm. _Just because she wasn’t answering her phone, and just because she wasn’t there didn’t mean-_

“Sergeant Barnes!” T’Challa called to him in greeting, and he inclined his head in an almost bow.

“Your Highness.” Bucky couldn’t wait, couldn’t stand the not-knowing, “Aleks – is she-?”

Okoye clicked once, understanding dawning on her pristine features. “Your partner is unharmed and on her way back home. Worry not, Sergeant.” Bucky felt himself sag slightly, almost unbalancing. Then he realised none of the weight on T’Challa and Okoye’s shoulders had lifted.

“I’m starting to think I should worry anyway.” He quipped wryly.

T’Challa almost smiled. “You may be right. I would not ask this of you if there was no choice,” He turned and gestured to one of the guards behind them. The tall man in purple robes stepped forwards, and placed a large ornate case on the hay bale beside them. Bucky eyed it, with a dawning suspicion and resignation. The case opened and Bucky was unsurprised to see the black and gold arm lying glistening, waiting for him.

He didn’t bother masking his expression. “Where’s the fight?”

“On its way.”

* * *

He had meant to make a smoother entrance. T’Challa stepped aside for him to greet his friends, and at first it was fine.

“Buck.” Steve’s voice was all relief, and Bucky didn’t miss the way his friend leant on him as they embraced. Bucky had only just learnt about Thanos, the fight for Earth, but Steve had been _living_ it since 2012. _No wonder he was already exhausted._ “It’s good to see you, how've you been?”

“Ah, not bad for the end of the world.” He shrugged, trying to keep it light. He could feel their eyes on his new arm, and resisted the urge to hide it. He didn’t need to be self-conscious of it anymore – this arm wasn’t blood-stained, it wasn’t made by enemy hands, it wasn’t a weapon to kill anymore. It was just…him. He nodded to Natasha, and then looked past her. Aleks was already looking at him. He couldn’t stop the smile that kept growing. _He’d missed her_. “Aleks- _oh._ ” He realised with a start that she _was in his uniform._ His stomach did a flip and he swallowed against a suddenly dry mouth. “You look- _oh-_ that’s mine, uh…”

Sam barked a laugh, and clapped him on the shoulder as the party kept moving. “Smooth talkin’, my guy.” Bucky resisted the urge to take a swing at him. Aleks stood, waiting, and he watched her greedily. It _definitely_ fit different, but in all the best ways. And he knew he could technically have it off her in 2.8 seconds if he chose, because he’d been in and out of that suit for over fifty years and knew every buckle and strap-

“-James?”

_Ah shit._

He blinked sheepishly. “Sorry, darlin’, what did you say?” The corner of her mouth twitched, and he watched her take a quick look around the empty landing platform before she closed the space between them.

“Distracted?” She asked, voice lilting in the way he knew was her teasing.

Unable to help himself, he ran his palms over her waist, hips, flattening his hands and gripping her tight. “Can you blame me?” He asked, watching the way her eyes flickered momentarily to his new arm. “Distracted?” He teased back, flexing the mechanics of the new arm to make the gold gleam in the light.

Her own hand came up to run over the intricate design. “By you? Always.” She met his eyes through her lashes. He huffed a laugh, and pressed his forehead to hers. Her face fell slightly, and she sighed. “James, we have to talk.”

“Uh oh.” He tried to play off the brief flare of nerve with laughter. “Historically, when a gal says that to her guy-”

“I don’t know what is going to happen today.” Aleks interrupted him. He shut his mouth, dropping the fake smile. Her face was hard and serious, and she was unblinking. Whatever she was going to say, she had planned it and prepared for it. “But I need you to know that-” She took a deep breath, and he kept quiet. She didn’t express things in quite the same way as other people, he knew that better than anyone, and so to see her so _anxious_ just to speak told him that she had been sitting on it for some time. “James, I respect you, and I love you,” _Okay, this was seriously starting to sound like a breakup._ He tried to keep the trepidation off his face. “However, I can’t- I don’t like how long we apart. When you undergo procedures, I feel like I don’t see you. It has been making me feel lonely, and sad.” She spoke carefully, almost like a middle-schooler talking through their emotions.

Oh. _Oh._

Immediately, guilt flooded his system.

He had been hurting her, and he hadn’t even realised. _Of course, he hadn’t realised._ She kept _all_ her shit locked up tight – and he’d just- well, he’d been selfish. In the time between his response, he realised her face had gone blank again. _She thought he’d be angry,_ he realised. She was starting to step back, and he held her tighter.

“Aleks, darlin’,” He swallowed, and bent so she was forced to meet his eyes. “ _I am so sorry._ ” A little ‘ _oh’_ fell from her parted lips, and incredibly, she _blushed._ “Why didn’t you say anything?”

There was no contest for him.

If she had asked him to stay with her, then he would have. He could recover his memories a different way, he could work through triggers the way she did, he would have done everything differently. If only he had known.

Her jaw worked, and still with pink cheeks, she shrugged jerkily. It was a gesture he recognised from Sam, and almost smiled because of it. “I thought it was what you wanted. I am now feeling,” She paused again, delicately, “Embarrassed. I thought you would rather-”

“No.” He cut her off, desperate for her to understand. “No, it’s never anything but you, okay?” A pleased smile began to spread across her face, and _she was so pretty_ \- “Do you understand? It will _always_ be you.”

She kissed him, still smiling. “Я должен был что-то сказать ...” **_I should have said something…_ **She whispered. “And now it’s too-”

“Don’t finish that sentence.” He pulled back from her, and pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose just to watch her squirm. “It’s not too late. We’ll fight, we’ll win, and then we’re going to get started on the shelving you wanted to put up, and then we’ll tell Shuri I’m done.” She bit her lip, and he knew she wanted to tell him to be realistic, but he kept smiling, and eventually she nodded.

“Okay.” She interlaced her fingers with his new metal ones, “We’ll fight, and then we’re done.”

“Мы в безопасности.” He told her, “Always secure.”

* * *

Shuri’s scan of Vision’s body was slow and steady; and it revealed the immense mass of interconnection within the android’s body. He looked like a galaxy.

Aleks leant against the nearest empty work bench and watched the way Banner’s eyes got wider and wider at each display of Wakanda’s advancements. When Shuri tilted her hand and produced a hologram of the inner-connection of the stone in Vision’s forehead, the man audibly gasped. “ _Whoa…”_

“The structure is polymorphic.” Shuri said, squinting slightly at the image.

Banner nodded, “Right, we had to attach each neuron non-sequentially.”

Shuri looked at him incredulously. “Why didn’t you just reprogram the synapses to work collectively?”

Even Vision shot Banner a questioning look. Banner cleared his throat. “Ah, because we didn’t think of it?” At his clear sheepishness, Shuri smirked.

“I’m sure you did your best.” She said snarkily, and Aleks cleared her throat, shooting the young girl a warning look. Shuri remained incorrigible.

Wanda stepped a little closer to the Princess. “Can you do it?” her voice shook with emotion, and Shuri’s smirk dimmed slightly.

“Yes.” Wanda’s shoulders relaxed slightly, but Shuri held her gaze, willing her to understand. “But there are more than two trillion neurons here. One misalignment could cause a cascade of circuit failures. It will take time brother.”

T’Challa rubbed his chin, face impassive. Steve cleared his throat. “How long?”

“As long as you can give me.” Shuri said honestly. The girl was brilliant, but even she had her limits. Aleks could see her frustration, could see her wishing she could snap her fingers and have it done.

An alarm sounded, and Okoye’s kimoyo beads began to trill with warning. “Something’s entered the atmosphere.” The hologram of the globe expanded, and Aleks watched the small red blips of the UFOs begin to descend. Outside, the sky remained a clear blue, perfect in near insult.

Her comm-unit crackled. “ _Hey, Cap, we got a situation out here.”_ Sam’s voice was steady. They all heard the whine of the explosion as something large connected with the shields above the palace.

Aleks lifted her hand to her ear at Steve’s nod. “It’s time to assemble at the front line, gentlemen.” She spoke at large, broadcasting to Rhodes and her partner at the same time. “The shields will hold. We’ll be with you soon.”

 _“Yeah, well don’t be too long. We’ve got more incoming, outside the dome.”_ Rhodes spoke

“Aleks.” She turned to look at Shuri. The princess was already at work, and she didn’t spare Aleks a single look as she spoke. “Your suit is ready. It might be a good idea to get it on.”

Aleks smiled slightly. “Thank you, Shuri. I will see you soon.” It was only then that the young girl lifted her eyes. She was unsurprised to see them free of tears or worry. Shuri had faith in spades, and Aleks let the girl’s surety buoy her. She looked to T’Challa and Steve again. “I will see you on the field.” Steve inclined his head, mouth tight, and T’Challa nodded, saluting her the Wakandan way, a gesture she returned before phasing from the room.

The new suit was laid across her bed, and she wasted no time admiring the details of the white and silver armouring, simply slipping it on and thanking Shuri for the close and light fit. Experimentally, she shifted, finding it far easier to slip in and out of the Grey with her new reflection panels. For once, she was only doing half the work.

She pulled her hair and braids up and out of her face, securing them in a tight knot at the base of her skull. Despite her best efforts, the wispiest, thinnest strands of hair around her face slipped free. She had no time for vanity, and so she simply bore it.

Already, the chill was creeping through her veins, and the calm before the fight was turning her to ice.

_Nothing but the mission._

It beat a drum through her chest, and she holstered her weapons and made for the battleground.

* * *

_“What are they doing?”_

_“Some pre-battle ritual. Haven’t you heard of them before?”_

_“The White Wolf-”_

_“White Widow fought beside-”_

Aleks could hear the whisper of the Wakandan soldiers around them, and ignored them. Her partner, just as sharp of hearing as her, smiled slightly. They were sitting together, face-to-face, and cramped enough in the low-flying transport that their knees touched. It reminded her of their escape from the states, of their long journey in the cargo hold to Greece.

“О чем ты думаешь?” **_What are you thinking about?_** Her partner’s thumb grazed soothingly over her knuckles, their intimate gesture hidden from the others by their weapons.

Aleks tried to smile back at him. “Callistrati.” She said. “Я думаю о ее еде.” **_I’m thinking about her food._**

Her partner huffed a faint laugh. “Эта женщина умела готовить.” **_That woman could cook._** He agreed, and squeezed her hand lightly. “Мы должны пойти к ней после этого.” **_We should go visit her after this._**

Aleks hummed. “Я хочу снова искупаться на этом пляже. Это было н ** _.” I'd like to go swimming at that beach again. It was nice._**

 _“I’ve got two heat signatures breaking through the treeline.”_ Rhodes voice came out clipped, and Aleks looked up to watch the Colonel and Sam soar over them. The pilot of their transport called out a warning, and she made to stand. Her partner’s grip on her hand tightened, and she paused, confused. Slowly, he raised their joined grip and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand.

Her heart fluttered and her stomach tightened at the gesture. “I love you.” She told him, and he smiled at her.

“I love you, too. Let’s go kill some aliens.”

Their transport shifted down at an angle, and the Wakandan soldiers began to disembark, sliding smoothly over the side in a practiced motion. Never one to be left behind, her partner leapt first from the transport, and was immediately swept into the rush of the soldiers assembling in perfect lines. Aleks phased smoothly through, walking calmly through the mass of soldiers to join him. Her partner shot a glare at her playfully. “Showoff.” He muttered to her, but let her take his hand to pull him into the Grey, and through the organized chaos towards Steve and Natalia.

The Jabari were chanting their distinctive warcry as she approached. Despite the volume and their soundless steps, both Natalia and Steve turned to look at them. Natalia quirked a brow, mouth turned up in a pretty but humourless smile. “Shall we go hear what the bastards have to say?”

Aleks turned to look at the two aliens standing just beyond the shield. She recognized the tall large one from footage from Greenwich Village, and the woman from Scotland. She sighed, and gave her niece a look. “What I wouldn’t give to never hear another enemy monologue.”

Steve chuckled, and shook his head. “Unfortunately, not many people are as succinct as you, Aleks.” T’Challa, Natalia and Steve began to head towards the barrier.

“Not many aliens, either, apparently.” Aleks muttered to herself, ignoring her partner’s laughing look. “Я скоро вернусь. Смотри на мое слепое пятно.” **_I'll be right back. Watch my blindspot._**

James rolled his eyes at her, already affixing the scope to his rifle. “I can’t believe you just said that. Like I won’t be watching.”

Aleks flicked him off, and began to jog after the others. She fell into step beside T’Challa, Natalia mirroring her on the other side of Steve. As they got closer, she watched the female-alien’s snarl grow. She was testing the strength of their shield with her blade, but lowered her weapon as they got close enough to hear her.

“Where’s your other friend?” Natalia’s voice was light, but her words were needling and sharp.

The alien woman’s eye twitched. “You will pay for his life with yours.” She snarled again, lips pulling back over her sharp fangs. “Thanos will have that stone.”

“That’s not gonna happen.” Steve said.

T’Challa jaw was tight. “You are in Wakanda now. Thanos will have nothing but dust and blood.”

“We,” The alien paused, voice almost delicate, “Have blood to spare.” With a grunt, she thrust her sword into the air, and at the signal, the large doors of the spaceships beyond the shield began to open. Aleks watched with wide eyes. _This was nothing she had ever seen before…aliens and monsters and gods and gemstones…_

And with it all; the fate of the universe.

Her partner was waiting for her, and he met her eyes with a cool neutrality that was at least a little bit of the Soldier. “Did they surrender?” Aleks fell in beside him, and turned to face the array of spaceships before them, and the vast jungle beyond that.

“Not exactly.” Steve said. At the edge of her hearing, Aleks began to hear sounds. Beastly sounds; inhuman snarling.

The hordes of six legged, foul looking aliens came pouring from the tree line, and she felt her breath hitch for a moment. Beside her, her partner’s fingers tightened on the trigger of his rifle. Old habit made her lift her hand and wrap her fingers around the bulk of his metal bicep, ready to pull them both into the Grey.

T’Challa began to shout a war cry, and the assembled Wakandans began to move again. Stepping deftly in front of them, the border tribes activated their shields, and her view of the approaching alien army was tinted blue.

“Save your strength.” Her partner’s voice was quiet, and she tracked his gaze to her hand on his arm. “Don’t waste it on me.”

She couldn’t help but scowl at him. “It’s never wasted on you.” He smiled at her, and she reluctantly retracted her hand.

There must have been thousands of the creatures; so many that the dust clouds they kicked up in their passing began to pollute the air outside of the shield. The alien woman lifted her sword again, and the creatures began to throw themselves at the shield.

“Looks like we pissed her off.” Natalia said quietly.

The creatures seemed single-minded, unheeding of the pain and their deaths as they pushed themselves through the shield. “They’re killing themselves…” Okoye sounded, for the first time, frightened.

“They are rabid.” Aleks breathed, “they will tear themselves to shreds just to get a chance to kill _us._ ” From what hell hole had these things been torn? What fiery pit had birthed such creatures? Aleks hoped she never found out.

The first of them began to break through the shield, and they wasted no time to recover from the burns searing over their bodies, simply screeching and galloping at full speed towards them. As the Wakandan soldiers lifted their blasters, her partner raised his rifle. She could hear her heart in her ears now, could feel her muscles bunching and readying themselves for action. Her partner didn’t miss. Every bullet found a home, and yet they kept coming.

Sam soared past them again, and her stomach flipped uncomfortably as one of the aliens jumped impossibly high, almost drawing its wicked claws across his exposed belly. _“You see the teeth on those things?”_ His voice was loud in her ear.

“ _Backup, Sam, or get your wings singed.”_ Rhodes called a warning, and in the next moment, the ground at the base of the shield was awash in flame. The bulk of the creatures’ entrance was blocked, but Aleks immediately noticed the pack splitting in two, racing around the outside of the dome.

“Captain, if these things circle the perimeter and get behind us, it’s over.” She addressed Steve directly, but broadcasted her voice through the comms. Immediately, Sam banked sharply to follow the left pack. “There’s nothing between them and Vision.”

Steve met her eyes for a moment, mouth hardening into a tight line. “Then we better keep them in front of us.” She nodded in agreement.

“How do we do that?” Okoye looked to T’Challa, who clenched his jaw. Aleks knew he was thinking the same thing she was, and unholstered her handguns.

His voice was heavy. “We open the barrier.” He lifted his hand to his ear. “On my signal, open North-West section seventeen.”

 _“Requesting confirmation, my king – you said open the barrier?”_ The Dome Control operator’s voice was disbelieving, and she could only imagine the fear running through the people.

“On my signal.”

Aleks looked at her partner one last time. His face was shuttered in concentration and his eyes were sharp. Just the sight of him was still enough to make her old, cold heart flip. She turned to the enemy, and took off the safety on her weapons. _Nothing but the mission._

_“WAKANDA FOREVER!”_

The barrier opened like the gates of Hell, and Aleks threw herself towards the battle like an avenging angel.

Or perhaps, just like an Avenger.


	6. Wakanda, 2018

They were strong, and weirdly slick, and _savage._

Aleks dug her feet into the soft mud of the ground, and braced herself against the creature roaring and snapping its jaws in her face. They stunk, too. With a growl of effort, she heaved it back, throwing it into another of its brethren and shooting them both as they struggled to get back up.

She only had their non-stop snarling as warning as three of them converged on her from behind. She phased out as they leapt. They were messy and discordant; they didn’t fight or work together, they just _attacked._

It made it harder for her to fight back; she was so used to picking out the pattern in her enemies, to defeating them methodically, to use her training to pick apart their own. These things weren’t trained, they had just been set loose. She jammed her gun directly into the maw of the closest, and her shot made its head explode, splattering slick blackish gore across her face and chest. The other two didn’t even wait for the body to drop, and the corpse of the creature protected her from a swipe of claws. She danced back, bracing herself, but they’d already fallen on a Wakandan soldier.

He howled as they bit into him and she lurched forwards to help him. She gripped him under his arms with one arm, firing the last of her clip into the aliens as she tugged him free. It was only when the creatures had fallen, she realised the man she had tried to help was already dead, missing most of his bottom half. She lowered him to the ground with a stab of nausea, pressed her fingers to his lips in silent apology.

A gun shot from behind her made her whirl, and she met her partner’s eyes over the fallen form of an alien that had been poised to kill her. He looked past her to the man on the ground, and his mouth tightened. She lifted her weapon then, and fired her own shot into another creature encroaching on him from behind.

Wordlessly, they stepped towards each other, and turned back to the fight at hand. They backed up, until she could feel the hot solidity of his back touching her own, and they moved and bent with each other, like two oaks weathering a storm. All too soon, however, she finished her other clip, and in the break she took to reload, her partner was knocked to the ground. His gun went skittering away, and he yelled out as he was bowled over.

Though panic trilled through her, she tried to stay calm, and buried her knife to the hilt in the alien’s neck. It didn’t even turn to look at her, and it was only her partner’s brute strength that kept it from his throat and face.

Gritting her teeth, Aleks phased out and _into_ the creature. For a sick, dark moment, she was _inside_ it, before she solidified and expanded her form as much as possible, using all her strength to rupture the thing from the inside out.

The stench was impossibly foul, and it was unbearably hot inside. With a wet gurgle, the alien fell to pieces around her intrusive form, and she shoved the mangled remains of its corpse off of her. There was a dark film over her eyes, and a bitter taste in her mouth.

Unable to help herself, she stumbled and gagged, retching up the bits of alien that had made it into her mouth. Her partner got up, and retrieved his weapon as she swayed and vomited again. His face was similarly screwed up in disgust, and she met his eyes balefully.

“You stink.” He told her, and handed her one of her guns she had dropped. Looking around for the other one, she spotted it lying in the remains of the creature’s stomach. He winced.

“I might be sick again.” She warned him, but took his spare gun anyway.

Without warning, she was bowled over, and as one of the creatures fastened its jaws around her leg, she heard her partner cry out again. Instinctively, she phased out as her vision was obscured by a mass of the creatures surging over her, all intent on ripping her to pieces. Her leg was on fire, as if the creatures were venomous, and she couldn’t get it under herself, couldn’t even get up on her hands and knees to crawl.

“ _JAMES!”_ She screamed for him, panicked, as she heard him yell again. She had to get to him, she had to-

She ripped herself from the Grey again, biting down on her tongue to stop herself screaming as claws raked across her back, finding the gaps between her reflective panels, and her flesh beneath. Blood pooled in her mouth and began to run down her back as she gripped fistfuls of grass and dirt, dragging herself towards her partner.

“Aleks-!” His voice cut off with a guttural, pained groan, and she kicked out savagely at the creatures still trying to hold her down, flickering in and out of solidity. Desperation made her numb, and she was momentarily thankful for her disgusting kill, as the blood and gore still coating her let her slip wetly between two of the creatures on the outside of the dogpile. Her partner was on his back, savagely burying his knife into the face of one of the creatures with its claws buried in his upper thigh. As it slumped, as she got close enough to touch his ankle, she pulled them both into the Grey just in time for one of the creatures to pounce on them.

It scrabbled at the dirt beneath them, furiously attempting to get them, seemingly unaware of their intangibility. They were treated to a close up of the inside of its maw as it attempted to bite them, teeth snapping in the negative space where they were. With a cry of her own, she began to drag them both towards a nearby boulder, her partner panting and pressing his hands into the bleeding holes in his leg. Pressed against the rock, she solidified again, and began to tighten a hasty torniquet around his thigh as he lifted his rifle to rest on her shoulder as a makeshift tripod. The loud crack of the bullets next to her ear made her eardrum blow, and she resisted the urge to shake her head to clear the uncomfortable buzzing dullness.

“Aleks!” Her partner bit out a warning, and without turning, she phased them out again, in time for one of the creatures to brain itself on the boulder as it leapt at the place where they had been. It stumbled back, dazed, and she twisted to put a bullet between its eyes.

There were too many. She forced herself to her feet, and hauled her partner up again. _Too many._ Together, they braced themselves against the boulder, firing without end into the countless aliens.

_Too many._

Desperate, she searched the battlefield for her niece’s pale hair, but was unable to find her. To her horror, she spotted Steve, as similarly pinned as they were, but without a gun to keep them at bay. Across the field, the giant red-and-gold armour holding Banner collapsed under a wave of the creatures, and she watched T’Challa be swept off his feet.

“We can’t do this much longer.” She said, and grit her teeth against a sudden wave of sorrow and resignation. If she gave up-

“We have to keep fighting.” Her partner sounded tired and he didn’t meet her eyes.

_Too many._

And then the sky lit up in a dizzying display of rainbow light, and bright forked tongues of lightning. The sudden vortex of light that poured into the centre of the battlefield was close enough to make them both stumble in the shockwaves, and the creatures close enough to the light were evaporated by its sheer power. She could feel the hair on her body stand on end; not from a chill, not from fear, but from a sudden surge of static electricity. Thunder crackled ominously overhead, and then three forms were revealed, silhouetted by the bright light.

Something silver and sharp went flying from the grip of the tallest, and she watched in mute shock as an _axe_ flew in a tight circle, beheading and slicing through dozens of the creatures – seemingly on its own volition.

She blinked, as the light faded, revealing a tall blonde man in armour and a red cape, a raccoon, and a tree with eyes. “Кто это, черт возьми?” **_Who the fuck is that?_** She spoke without filter.

Despite her Russian words, Steve answered her. “Thor.” She watched her friend straighten, and look with a smile towards the tall man. _God._ Her memory supplied helpfully. _The God of Thunder, alien, Avenger, ally._

“BRING ME THANOS!” Thor’s cry echoed across the field without the use of comms, so loud she thought it must have been supernatural. At his side, the tree let out a tinny, angry scream, and the racoon hefted a huge gun with a strangely human smirk.

She and her partner exchanged a disbelieving look. “Вы помните, когда нас считали странными?” **_Do you remember when we were considered strange?_** Her partner asked with a faint smile.

She barked a laugh, and cocked her own weapon. “I don’t think anyone can reasonably call me a freak of nature anymore.” With a yell of their own, they turned back to the fight. Thor’s arrival, the hope that had visibly filled Banner and Steve, the new surge of adrenaline – Aleks felt herself regain a little strength.

She leapt over the boulder, and hurtled towards the nearest cluster of aliens, baring her own teeth as they rounded on her and screeched. Her partner was at her side again, and for a moment she felt invincible.

They fought together, gaining a little ground, and because of it, she was able to catch her breath for a moment, take stock of more than just her immediate surroundings. It was then she spotted the raccoon, alone, facing down a wall of charging aliens.

“Die space-dogs!” It – _he_ – yelled, and fired with equal passion. But it was so small, and the aliens so big-

“James! The raccoon!” She yelled for her partner’s attention, lowering herself to one knee to aim better. The raccoon may have been a stranger, but it was fighting with them, and as such, she had to keep it alive. Her partner didn’t waste a beat, running towards the small furry animal and lifting it by the scruff of its neck. She kept firing, shooting into the gaps between them as her partner turned in a circle, firing automatically into the aliens approaching them on all sides. The raccoon didn’t seem to notice it’s change in position as it screamed and held down the trigger of its own gun, creating a 360-degree spiral of fire. She watched in vague amusement as the pair of them took down a few dozen alone.

The raccoon looked up as her partner dropped it unceremoniously onto its paws, and for a moment she thought it might thank him, or at the very least, introduce itself. “How much for the gun?” it demanded instead, and her partner frowned.

“Not for sale.”

“Okay,” The raccoon’s beady eyes fell on her partner’s arm with a gleam of interest. “How much for the arm?”

This time she answered the small thing, standing and passing her partner a spare clip for his rifle. “ _Definitely_ not for sale.” Her partner reattached his clip, and she wrapped her fingers around his arm as the raccoon muttered to itself. She pulled them into the Grey for a moment and met his eyes. “I have to find Natalia.”

He nodded, eyes already moving past her, undoubtedly calculating target distance. She released him and he began to fire past her should. “Go. I’ll find you.”

She didn’t look back, turning to run into the fray, lifting a hand to her comm unit. “Natalia, what’s your position?”

“ _Upright, for now_.” Natalia’s voice was curt, and she sounded a little out of breath, but her sarcasm was enough to make Aleks grin to herself as she put down two more of the creatures bolting towards her. “ _I’m having some fun about a klick from the barrier, wanna join?”_

“Hosting a party without permission?” Aleks asked liltingly, and turned towards the barrier. Sure enough, with the dust of Thor’s arrival settling, she could make out Natalia’s pale hair. She broke into a run towards her niece.

“ _Are any of you Americans capable of fighting without unnecessary witty banter?”_ It was Okoye who spoke, clipped and restrained. There was a yelp from beside her, and she turned momentarily to see on of the creatures pinned to the ground by a spear. The General appeared from behind another creature, and Aleks slowed to let the bald woman join her. “It is _extremely_ annoying.” Okoye grouched, and jerked her spear free of the alien corpse.

Aleks nodded to the tall woman, who matched her pace wordlessly, despite how tired she must have been. Together, they hurdled a small pile of alien bodies, and Aleks shot down another two attempting to ambush them. “We are _technically_ Russian.” She told Okoye.

Okoye rolled her eyes. “Then you’ve been spending too much time with your _friends._ ”

“ _Aw, c’mon, General,”_ Sam flew by, the rattle of his automatic rifles taking out a line of aliens ahead of them, “ _I think it’s nice for Frosty the Assassin and her equally terrifying niece to have some buddies.”_

Okoye shot his retreating form a glower, and somehow managed to turn up her nose at the same time as throwing her spear directly into the eye of another alien. Aleks was unsurprised at the answering flutter in her chest at the casual display of ability. She’d been enamoured with the stalwart general since Okoye had managed to put her on her ass in front of the other Dora Milaje. Okoye was everything Aleks wanted to be; deadly, dangerous, daring, staunch, inspirational, a functioning member of society…

Her niece turned to greet them as they got close enough to hear her. She was filthy and sweaty, but disabled an alien without even watching its approach. Aleks felt another swell of pride and admiration. “Ladies.” Natalia nodded to them, eyes sweeping over Aleks’ form. She raised a perfect eyebrow. “Do I want to know?” Aleks shook her head vehemently. All she could smell was alien guts, and she didn’t exactly want to relieve the slimy sensation of being _inside_ one.

They formed a loose triangular formation, Natalia abandoning her gauntlets in favour of her guns, and together they were able to keep the bulk of the creatures at bay, Okoye’s spear taking care of any that got too close. With the two women watching her back, Aleks felt safe enough to catch her breath for a moment.

They weren’t making headway, but they’d stopped losing ground.

Aleks lowered herself to one knee, stabilizing her position again, and turning her back on the barrier to catch the creatures attempting to run past them. It was easy pickings as they ran from her, and for a moment, she was _comfortable_.

A mistake.

As if the universe could sense her lapse in attention, the lapse in her ceaseless guard, Aleks felt an ominous rumble shudder through the ground. At the edge of her hearing, she became suddenly aware of the creaking and cracking of tree trunks. She stood, and turned, searching the world beyond the barrier for explanation. Okoye and Natalia moved smoothly into her blind spots without a word. There was nothing but fire, and the shudder of treetops. Aleks squinted-

The earth exploded, and the barrier rippled as something massive emerged from the ground. It was a hideous metal structure, insidiously spiked like massive gears, and she watched in horror as it tore right through the front line at the barrier, eating up soldier and alien alike, before it split into five distinct pieces. Two more of the spiny structures came from under the barrier, equal destruction. They all split and veered off, causing instant chaos. Dimly, she was aware of T’Challa screaming to fallback, but was unable to tear her eyes off the massive machine bearing down on her.

She could not reach both women in time. She would have to choose.

Aleks darted for Natalia, already curling in on herself to brace against the impact. She threw herself on her niece, and pulled them both into the Grey as the machine roared towards them.

And then; _red._

Impossible, improbable red.

Wanda stood before them and the machine, _between_ them, and Aleks couldn’t stop her jaw dropping as the young woman held the _whole_ machine aloft with nothing but her will, her strength and her magic. And then, she threw it, sending it scattering to pieces around them, wiping out the encroaching hordes of aliens that hadn’t even waited for their blood to hit the ground.

Slowly, they straightened to look at her. Wanda’s hair blew back from her face, and Aleks watched her power swirl scarlet in her irises.

Okoye righted her spear, adjusted her cowl, and frowned. “Why was she up there all this time?” Wanda smiled a little sheepishly, and flicked another wave of the aliens over. Okoye snorted and returned to the fray.

“ _Guys, we have a Vision situation here-”_ Sam cut off with a dull grunt and a thud.

Steve was less composed; “ _SOMEBODY GET TO VISION!”_

Her body responded automatically to the command – and she whirled to face the tower, breaking into a sprint towards Vision’s position. “I’m on my way.” She barked into her comm unit.

“I got him!” Banner cried, and she heard other answering affirmatives over the line.

_“I’m on my way- AGH!”_

Aleks couldn’t help but turn at Wanda’s cry of pain. “Wanda?”

 _“Она у меня. Идти_.” **_I have her. Go._** Her niece’s voice was hard, and she watched her form disappear into the hole created by the machines.

“Is she alright?” Aleks asked again, wavering between two directives.

 _“She’s not alone.”_ Natalia’s voice was firm.

Aleks grit her teeth, and turned her back on the other women. Guilt and duty and sentiment. They warred within her. “James…” She said instead, eyes fixed on the dense jungle beneath Shuri’s Tower.

“ _I’m with you._ ” Her partner’s immediate answer eased some of the building worry in her chest. The sharp crack of gunfire preceded a line of aliens falling beside her, and then he was there, matching her pace, rifle still aloft. “I’m always with you.” He greeted her, and she met his eyes for a brief moment. He was smiling, gently, just for her. His new arm was no longer shiny, covered in the same blackish gore as she was.

They didn’t stop to kill, didn’t stop to fight – it was like they were running an extreme obstacle course. As they hurdled a fallen tree, she was reminded of one such course she’d used to run as a child. “Вы помните Казанский курс?” **_Do you remember the Kazan Course?_** She asked her partner, phasing right through a boulder in their path.

Her partner frowned for a moment, hefting himself over another rock with his metal hand. “Я не ... Ах да! Да, это было именно так, а?” **_I don't- Oh yeah! Yeah, it was just like this, huh?_**

She laughed despite herself. “Yes. Just like this,” Through the gap in the trees she could see Vision, and the male alien she thought her niece had killed. Her smile turned into a snarl, and she surged forwards. “Just like this; but without the alien ублюдки.” **_Bastards._**

She was faster than him like this; faster without heavy gear, faster without having to avoid trees and brush and rock. Aleks phased out, and ran faster than she ever had before. Vision was still wounded, and she could see it in the lag of his movements, in the weakness of his legs. He was a machine – but he was also a man. She saw the instant his arms failed, and had to watch as the alien drove his spear into Vision’s chest.

Vision slumped to the ground, and the alien crouched over him, entirely fixated on the android. Aleks didn’t wait for a better opening.

She leapt for the alien, wrapping both her hands around the stupid horn-like protrusions on his helmet, and yanked hard. Much like Steve had collapsed back in Berlin, she jerked the alien right off his feet.

He gave a gurgling cry as his head was snapped roughly backwards, and swung out with his spear. She phased out, remembering too late what Vision had said. The sharp edge of the weapon tore right through her uniform as if she had never phased at all, and she gasped at the sharp pain that lit up along her hip and belly.

She stumbled back as the alien regained his feet, pressing a hand briefly to the blood welling up under her uniform. “Shit.” She muttered, eyeing the spear. It was coloured red with her blood. The sight made her angry in a way she hadn’t felt in years, and she curled her bloodied hand into a fist. The alien hefted the spear again, and she charged. She slid under his first swing, throwing her whole weight behind her shoulder and into his groin. He didn’t react as she though he would, seemingly unphased by her low blow, simply stumbling back with a grunt. “An alien with no balls…” She mused aloud, getting back to her feet.

He hissed at her, an animal sound, and threw his spear at her. She dodged, meeting his blows with equal force. He hit as hard as Steve did, and though she could deflect them, it _hurt._ She looked past him to Vision. “Get out of here!” She yelled at him, stepping between him and the alien.

This time when he rushed her, she met him halfway, and catching his swing with her hand dislocated her shoulder. She bit her lip, and swung her elbow at his chest. He wheezed out a sharp pained breath as she made contact, and the impact forced her shoulder back into place with a visceral _snap_.

And then her partner was there, firing with unnerving accuracy at the joint in the alien’s armour. At his side, Steve strode forwards with a determined air. “Get him out of here.” Steve ordered, eyes still fixed on the alien’s face. With James’ bullets keeping him at bay, Steve advanced on the alien, and Aleks turned to Vision.

The android was wheezing slightly, struggling to lift himself with one hand. Aleks dropped to her knees beside him, the sudden movement making her head spin. She looked down briefly at the dark, growing stain at her side and swore quietly. “You…are wounded.” Vision’s voice was laboured and staticky.

She eyed him as she threw his limp arm over her shoulder. “So are you.” With a huff that turned into a cry as her side screamed in pain, she forced herself and him to their feet.

“I’m sorry, Aleksandrina.” Vision panted.

She clenched her jaw, and fixed her eyes on the trees opposite the clearing. If they could just make it there, she could try and hide them, keep them in the Grey-

Vision’s legs buckled, and she was almost pulled to the ground with him. “I’m-” he began to apologize again, and she hissed wordlessly at him.

“We can do it.” It came out a gasp, as she shouldered all of his weight, his feet dragging slightly as she began to hobble away from the sounds of conflict behind them. She could hear the sounds of her partner and the Captain fighting still, and then, a low victorious noise and a thud. She turned, and watched James haul Steve to his feet. The alien lay still at their feet, her partner’s favourite knife buried to the hilt in it’s eye. “Oh, Слава Богу.” **_Thank God._**

Her voice made the two panting men turn, both of their eyes widening in identical concern. It was with no small amount of relief that she relinquished Vision to Steve’s grip. James’ hands fell on her hips, locking her in place as he crouched before her to come eyelevel with her injury. “Aleks…” He muttered, drawing his bottom lip between his teeth. “This isn’t good.”

Aleks batted his hands away. “Nothing is _good_ , James. We don’t have time to-”

“Where is he?” Wanda’s accent was thick in her worry, and they all turned as she touched down in the clearing, red light fading from her hands as she hurried towards Vision. Steve eased him down against a log, Wanda brushing him aside, her eyes only for her lover. “Are you okay?” she murmured, lowering herself in front of him.

Steve grimaced as he walked towards them, and now he wasn’t fighting, Aleks could see his exhaustion in his face, and the faint limp on his right side. Aleks looked back down to James and gave him a warning look. “Darling.” He rose, mouth opening as if to say more, before shaking his head and looking away.

Steve’s hand landed heavily on her shoulder. “Are you alright?” he asked, eyeing her side with no subtlety.

She nodded. “I can stand, so I can fight.”

“Good.” He said, nodding to himself and looking around the clearing. “It’s not over.”

Behind them, Vision let out a strangled cry and they all whipped around to look at him. He was curling over under Wanda’s frantic grip, clutching at the stone in his forehead, which was glowing bright. “He-He’s here!” The android bit out, and Aleks felt her blood run cold.

Immediately, she turned back to the clearing, scanning the still forest, heart beating in her throat. Her partner moved to flank her, and they crouched slightly, instinctively, old training making their breathing go slow and silent. A distant wind began to wail through the trees, and suddenly the sounds of the battle sounded far away. Sam appeared from the sky, Natalia clutched close to his chest, and they dropped silently to stand beside them, eyes on the greying clouds above.

Steve’s jaw worked and he readied his shields. “Everyone on my position. We have incoming.”

_Nothing but the mission._

Aleks pressed her hand back into the wound at her hip, and tried to focus at the sharp pain her touch inspired. Fresh blood ran hot over her knuckles and she breathed in air and blew out frost. Their allies assembled loosely around the clearing, and though she was happy to see so many familiar faces still alive, all she could think was _canon-fodder._

And then, from behind Banner, a smoking, swirling vortex of blue light began to form. Aleks curled her fingers around the hilt of her partner’s knife, as something – _someone_ – took shape within the void.

_Nothing but the mission._

Thanos was huge. He was a behemoth of a being, violet and scarred, broad and armoured. There was no trepidation on his face; in fact, he looked _bored._ It set ice through her veins, it made her chest tighten in fear. She had never faced an opponent like this; not one that seemed underwhelmed with their display of force.

_Nothing but the mission._

“Eyes up. Stay sharp.” Steve’s voice was weak. Banner charged Thanos, and with nothing but a gentle wave of his fist, Thanos sent the man and the giant suit of armour flying through the air and into the rock wall. The rock closed around Banner, and the armour was still.

_Nothing but the mission._

Steve was thrown from his feet in a wash of purple energy, his body cracking limply like a doll against a tree. He did not get back up as he always did and Aleks felt her heart skip a beat. T’Challa leapt – but was caught mid-air with a giant hand around his throat. He was thrown, _hard._ Sam rocketed from the sky, war-cry on his lips and guns blazing. Thanos didn’t even look at her friend, and he went crashing into the ground, skidding out of sight into the brush.

_Nothing but the mission._

Behind her, Vision was begging Wanda to destroy it, destroy _him._ Aleks could taste the heartbreak in the air, bitter like ash and blood. “ _It’s not fair. It shouldn’t be you, but it is.”_ Wanda was crying, and if Vision had tear ducts, he would be too. “ _I just feel you_.” Her partner was warm and solid by her side, and as Rhodey was crushed and tossed aside, Aleks wondered if he could feel her too.

_Nothing but the mission._

When they charged him, they charged him together. When they screamed, they screamed together. Aleks and James rushed Thanos in unison, and for a moment, as one of James’ bullet found its mark, she thought they might have a chance-

_Nothing but the mission-_

Thanos lifted his hand and the gauntlet glowed blue, and Aleks world went Grey. Without her permission, without warning, she was thrust into the Grey, and she went running right through Thanos, unable to stop herself, unable to phase back. She whirled, trying to fight, and watched her hands begin to fade as her ability began to consume her.

_Nothing but the-_

James thudded into rock and was still, and Aleks couldn’t seem to make her legs work. Natalia got close, but then the earth opened and began to cocoon her in a deadly tomb. Aleks tried to scream for him, for her-

_Nothing but-_

Aleks was invisible, intangible and helpless. She watched as Thanos advanced on Wanda and Vision, unable to make a sound. When Steve was forced back to his knees, when he was hit again and again and again, until he stopped moving, she couldn’t get to him. When the gem exploded, she couldn’t even feel the shockwave that bowled Thanos off his feet. When his fist glowed green, and Vision’s head began to knit itself back together, she could only watch. She couldn’t walk, she wasn’t even sure if she was standing as she drifted away slightly, as if blown by the wind.

Thanos placed the final gem with delicacy, and Thor appeared from the sky in a crack of thunder and a flash of lightning, and even her hope felt hollow. His axe buried itself in Thanos’ chest, but still life and purpose gleamed in the Titan’s eyes, and as he raised his fist, Aleks knew what would happen, and as his fingers curled to snap, she-

_Nothing._

* * *

**May 31 st, 2018**

**Wakanda, Africa**

* * *

The world was still.

“What did you do?” Thor’s voice was roughened with desperation. Thanos was singed and smoking, wounded somehow from the inside out. “WHAT DID YOU DO?” Thor roared in his face and reached for the purple alien. Thanos raised his fist again, and then disappeared into another blue portal.

Aleks watched as the others began to pick themselves up, look around with wide eyes, confused eyes. Thor stumbled where he stood, twisting and turning, blood still up, fight still in him. His axe was lying on the ground, stained with dark indigo blood.

Everything felt very…far away.

The world had no colour for her; not unusual, when she was in the Grey she lived in black and white. But there was an absence of any sound. She couldn’t hear as she usually could, couldn’t see much further than the trees at the edge of the clearing. Her partner turned to her, and she saw him shape her name with his lips. A wind blew through them, around them, and her world shifted.

It was as if she was a shade – blown around by the breeze, unable to move on her own.

“Aleks-” She could hear him now, and see him as he stepped towards her. But there was horror on his face, and he looked down at himself. She followed his gaze.

“Buck! Bucky!” Steve was reaching for her partner, and Aleks watched as his hands went through the space where her partner’s left arm used to be. He was turning to ash, to dust, and she couldn’t even say his name.

Aleksandrina Romanov watched as her partner faded into nothing.

The others, half of the others-

She was dimly aware of the others falling, fading. Something cracked and shifted deep in her chest as she stared and stared at the spot where her partner had been. She couldn’t even-

Someone else was calling her name, someone was in front of her, beside her. Natalia, Steve, someone reached for her. Like she too was nothing but dust, they couldn’t touch her. The scream that had built and built inside of her slipped free; and she could hear it now – echoing as if from far away. Her niece was staring at her with eyes devoid of emotion, and a broken face. Aleks knew what she saw – a ghost. A real, living, _ghost._ She had become what she had hated about herself, and she had lost everything she loved. Thanos had seen to that.

Aleks feared one thing; being without _him._

And now she was without.


End file.
